Eminent Domain Report

For the third year in a row, our attorneys have outlined key trends and issues shaping the water landscape in Nossaman’s California Water Views – 2025 Outlook. Topics range from the effects of climate change on water availability and infrastructure to critical updates in legislative and regulatory frameworks. The publication not only provides insight into developments at the state level but also addresses how decisions from Sacramento, Washington, DC and across the U.S. are influencing California’s water sector. … 

In California, the primary governing structure for condemnation suits is set forth within Title 7 of the California Code of Civil Procedure (CCP 1230.010, et. seq.), otherwise known as the Eminent Domain Act, which was enacted in 1975. In 2006, a few modest updates were made, including the addition of an appraisal reimbursement provision that requires a public entity to pay the reasonable costs, not to exceed $5,000, for a property owner facing condemnation to secure its own appraisal. Now, about twenty years later in 2025, new legislation, AB 1033, has been introduced to the ...

Jillian Friess Leivas recently represented IRWA Chapter 67 (Orange County) at the 2024 Region 1 Spring Forum in Las Vegas, Nevada as the Chapter’s President-Elect and International Director. IRWA Region 1 encompasses all chapters within California, Nevada and Arizona.

During the forum, Jillian was awarded the IRWA Region 1 Young Professional of the Year Award. The award recognizes association members who have demonstrated a commitment to the industry at the Chapter, Region and/or International level of the association in terms of participation, contribution and service ...

Sea level rise is a critical issue facing public agencies and property owners throughout the United States. In California alone, this phenomenon could impact thousands of residences and businesses, dozens of wastewater treatment plants and power plants and hundreds of miles of highways, roads and railways. Last year, the California Legislature introduced a number of bills that proposed to address, or anticipate, or mitigate the impacts of sea level rise in California. Almost all of those bills, however, failed to make their way to the Governor’s desk. This year, the California ...