This post was authored by Sebastian Perez, JD

Plaintiffs William Becker and Darcy Lynch (“Plaintiffs”), acting as co-trustees, filed a property rights lawsuit against the City of Hillsboro, Missouri (the “City”) for inverse condemnation, alleging that the city took private property without providing compensation . Additionally, the plaintiffs claimed that their constitutional rights under 42 USC § 1983 have been violated. Before the United State District Court of Missouri, Eastern Division (the “Court”) was the City’s motion to dismiss.

Plaintiffs were co-trustees of the Antoinette Ogilvy Trust (the “Trust”) that included a piece of real property in Jefferson County, Missouri

This post was authored by Gabriella Mickel, JD Candidate 2024, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.

Defendant-landowner Sisters & Brothers Investment Group, LLP (SBIG) appealed an environmental-division enforcement order that prohibited them from using a property in the City of Burlington as a parking lot, requiring them to address site-improvement deficiencies as per an agreement with the prior owner and the City, and imposing fines of $66,759.22.

SBIG purchased the property, a gas and service station (a preexisting, nonconforming use), in 2004, which had existing violations. An agreement was signed between the prior owner and the City, specifying

This post was authored by Gabriella Mickel, JD Candidate 2024, Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

In this case, a competing hotel owner, South Bethlehem Associates, LP, challenged the decision of the Zoning Hearing Board of Bethlehem Township Pennsylvania to grant variances to Central PA Equities 30, LLC for the construction of a new hotel two blocks away. The main issue at hand is whether the competing hotel owner has the legal standing to seek a judicial review of the zoning board’s decision.

The court noted that ordinarily, standing requires a showing of adverse impact, that reflects

This post was authored by Sebastian Perez, Esq.

In 1997, Blinkoff filed a lawsuit against the City of Torrington Planning and Zoning Commission (the “Planning & Zoning Commission”) and several members, alleging discrimination and denial of equal protection. Blinkoff inherited a parcel of land that had been operated as a gravel bank and excavated since the 1950s. She claimed that use of the land as a quarry had been exempt from the City of Torrington’s (the “City”) zoning regulations. Blinkoff alleged that she faced restrictions and selective enforcement based on her gender and religion. The 1997 case went to trial

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas’ Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.

Impeachment triggers Paxton’s immediate suspension from office pending the outcome of a trial in the state Senate and empowers Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to appoint someone else as Texas’ top lawyer in the interim.

The 121-23 vote constitutes an abrupt downfall for one of the GOP’s most prominent

This post was authored by Robert Thomas, Esq. and originally appeared on the InverseCondemnation Blog and is reposted with permission. See, https://www.inversecondemnation.com/inversecondemnation/2023/05/ca6-legislative-conditions-are-subject-to-nexus-and-proportionality-requirements.html

The 6^th Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, No. 21-6179 (May 10, 2023) held that conditions imposed on every development — and not just ad hoc administratively-imposed conditions — must conform to the Nollan-Dolan-Koontz close nexus and rough proportionality standards.

The Sixth Circuit has added to the growing split in the lower courts about whether legislatively-imposed conditions on development which cover everyone are, as some courts characterize them, mere land use regulations

This post was authored by Tyler Doan, Esq.

Plaintiffs filed applications with the City of Austin to digitize existing traditional billboards and to upgrade signs with less sophisticated digitization. The Defendant denied their application because the signs would advertise for things not located on the site where the sign was installed. “In sum, off-premises signs could not be upgraded.”

A lawsuit ensued and the Sign Code was upheld in the district court and initially reversed in the Fifth Circuit as unable to survive strict scrutiny. The case was then appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton teetered on the brink of impeachment Thursday after years of scandal, criminal charges and corruption accusations that the state’s Republican majority had largely met with silence until now.

In an unanimous decision, a Republican-led House investigative committee that spent months quietly looking into Paxton recommended impeaching the state’s top lawyer on 20 articles, including bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust. The House could vote on the recommendation as soon as Friday. If it impeached Paxton, he would be forced to leave the office immediately.

The move sets up