Eminent Domain Report

Aleene Madikians and I recently authored the article “Mitigating Damages—Condemning Replacement or Substitute Property” for the May/June 2024 issue of the International Right of Way Association (IRWA) newsletter, Right of Way. In the article we discuss, among other topics, severance damages from 'partial takings'. … 

Join me on January 8, 2024, as I present “Rights Included in Rights-of-Way” during “California Highway and Utility Rights-of-Way,” a webinar hosted by HalfMoon Education. During my presentation, I will discuss the condemnation process, landowner rights, maintenance of rights-of-way, alterations and encroachments and different types of rights-of-way used for highway purposes.

HalfMoon Education is a nonprofit continuing education provider whose mission is to develop and sponsor high-quality, timely and competitively-priced continuing education seminars ...

A question that arises with some frequency in our practice is whether a public entity can adversely possess a property interest against another public entity. The general rule of thumb is that a private entity cannot obtain an interest in real property owned by a public entity through adverse possession. This rule is in part based off of the long-established principle nullum tempus occurrit regi, which means "time does not run against the king."

In California, this common law principle has been affirmed and reaffirmed for over a century in our courts and has been codified by the ...

Join us on November 16th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. PT as we discuss “Partial Acquisitions: Project Benefits and Mitigation Strategies Related to Offsetting Severance Damages.” We are excited to host this webinar along with our guest speakers, Alison Roach and Robert Caringella from Jones, Roach & Caringella, Inc.

During this webinar, we will provide:

• A legal primer on severance damages in partial acquisitions;
• An in-depth review of the legal standards granting condemning entities the ability to offset severance damages with project benefits; and
• An examination of case studies ...

Rosamond Community Services District (“RCSD”) recently approved the adoption of a resolution of necessity and filed a case to acquire water rights from agricultural land by eminent domain. After the adoption of the Resolution of Necessity, Antelope Valley Water Master granted the RCSD with a 999 acre-foot permanent water pumping allotment, in addition to a one-time pumping allotment of 5,000 acre-feet. These allotments significantly changed RCSD’s water acquisition needs and eliminated the need for eminent domain to be used.

While it is not uncommon for a public ...