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October 28, 2014

Michael Rikon Publishes NYLJ Article on Public Trust Doctrine and NYC Parklands

Mr. Rikon’s most recent NYLJ, available by clicking here, discusses the public trust doctrine and recent New York cases involving challenges to public parklands. As Mr. Rikon writes, the parks are protected by the public trust doctrine, which was adopted by the States from well-established English Law. The landmark case was Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois, 146 US 387 (1892). In that case, the Illinois legislature had granted most of the Chicago harbor to the railroad. The Supreme Court held that the State held title to the land underneath the… read more

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Posted in New York, parklands, Published Articles, Recent cases
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October 15, 2014

Games Condemnors Play: When Appraisers Lose Credibility

  In his book, “Expert Witness in the Legal System: A Scientist’s Search for Justice,” Morris S. Zedek wrote that in 2001, the Committee on Criminal Advocacy of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York surveyed judges about the prevalence of perjury in the New York metropolitan area. In regard to expert witnesses, of the thirty judges who responded, 50 percent said they encountered occasional perjury. This is not surprising to a trial lawyer. In condemnation cases, most reputable appraisers do not commit perjury. They may… read more

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Posted in Appraisers, Eminent Domain, Highest and Best Use, New York, Recent cases, Trial Preparation
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September 24, 2014

Time to Curb Developers from Controlling Condemnation Litigation

If you are reading an appellate court decision deciding a condemnor’s appeal from an award your client recovered and the Court quotes Judge Cardozo in New York, O. & W.R. Co. v. Livingston, 238 NY 300 (1924), it’s not good. This is the case where Judge Cardozo wrote that “it is the duty of the state ,in the conduct of the inquest by which the compensation is ascertained, to see that it is just, not merely to the individual whose property is taken, but to the public which is to… read more

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Posted in Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain, Eminent Domain Abuse, Future of the law, New York, Offer & Compensation, Recent cases, Valuation
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August 21, 2014

Appellate Division Affirms Award of $8.1 Million

On August 20, 2014, the New York Appellate Division, Second Department, affirmed an award of $8,100,000 for just compensation to Split Rock Partnership for the taking of Claimant’s real property. The advance payment was $244,800. The decision can be found here. Claimant owned 64 acres of vacant land in the Village of Hillburn, which is located in Rockland County. In February 2005, Rockland County Sewer District No. 1 acquired the subject property by condemnation for the construction of a new sewer processing facility. The Appellate Division held that the measure… read more

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Posted in Highest and Best Use, New York, Recent cases, Valuation
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August 7, 2014

Second Department Precludes Interior Appraisal Inspection

Recently, we blogged about a California case, Property Reserve, Inc. v. Superior Court, 224 Cal. App. 4th Dept 828 (2014), wherein the California Third District of Appeal ruled that entry statues which allowed discovery , testing, and inspection of property which was being considered in a condemnation proceeding were unconstitutional. The case was also the subject of a recent New York Law Journal article published on June 24, 2014. New York has very similar pre-condemnation entry authorizations in its Eminent Domain Procedure Law. The column noted that Property Reserve did not… read more

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Posted in Condemnation Procedures, Eminent Domain Abuse, Entry Statutes, New York, Recent cases
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