A federal claims court, on remand, adjusted the damages awarded to the owners of low-income housing units that suffered a temporary regulatory takings in connection with the passage of the Emergency Low-Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 and the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Home...

The Sixth Circuit held that individuals may go forward with their class action suit against a cement manufacturing plant for current and future personal and real property damages, diminution in property value, and various detrimental health effects caused by the emission of toxic pollutants. The Jud...

The Seventh Circuit held that a motel owner's challenge to a city ordinance that designated its property as a potential target for acquisition is unripe. The owner's claim, whether labeled an equal protection claim or a takings claim, is subject to the special ripeness standards for constitutional p...

The Second Circuit affirmed a lower court decision that New York's purchase of the Niagara River islands from the Seneca Nation of Indians in 1815 did not violate the Non-Intercourse Act, which bars conveyances by Indians to non-Indians unless ratified by Congress. Although the transaction was not a...

A California appellate court upheld a city's decision not to prepare an environmental impact report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the construction of a senior citizens housing complex. A neighborhood group argued that the project would have a significant adverse aes...

The Tenth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a timber company's claim challenging the U.S. Forest Service's Historical Preservation Plan (HPP) for the Medicine Wheel National Historic Landmark and Vicinity in the Bighorn National Forest. The Forest Service rejected the company's challenge to the HPP, w...

A California appellate court held that a dentist was not entitled to compensation for loss of goodwill as a result of a state university's condemnation of property in which the dentist held a leasehold interest. The constitutional right to just compensation does not include the loss of goodwill to a...

The Fifth Circuit held that an individual failed to state a claim under the reverse FCA in its qui tam action against a chemical manufacturer. In a reverse false claims suit, the defendant's action does not result in improper payment by the government to the defendant, but instead results in no paym...

A California appellate court held that a trial court need not grant relief from a dismissal entered for failing to request a hearing on the merits in a CEQA case when the failure was caused by an attorney's inexcusable mistake or neglect. CEQA requires that a petitioner request a hearing within 90 d...

A California appellate court reversed a county's adoption of a mitigated negative declaration under CEQA in connection with the demolition of an old county jail. The group challenging the declaration demonstrated that the jail is an historic resource, that its demolition will have a significant envi...