Marzulla Law Blog
Just Compensation Requirement for Property Taking Is Not Dischargeable in Bankruptcy
On July 18, 2022, First Circuit Judge Kayatta, appointed to the bench in 2013 by President Obama, issued a robust rejection of the Puerto Rico Financial Oversight and Management Board’s argument, supported by the U.S. Justice Department, that it could discharge...
Flooding Taking Case Dismissed for Failure to Allege a Claim
To address the routine flooding that occurs in the Mississippi Delta, in the 1940s the federal government built the Yazoo Backwater Project—a levee system designed to protect portions of Issaquena County, Misssissippi, near the confluence of the Mississippi and Yazoo...
Federal Circuit Holds That Houston-Flooded Homeowners Have Compensable Property Rights
Following the devastating flooding of hundreds of privately owned properties in an area on the western edge of Houston, Buffalo Bayou, caused by flood control actions of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in response to Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey, the flooded...
Court Denies Covid Eviction Moratorium Taking Claim
At the height of the Covid pandemic, with its widespread lockdowns to prevent the spread of infection, the Center for Disease Control put in place a nationwide residential eviction moratorium. In response, 38 landlords and rental property owners, Darby Development...
Court Agrees with Marzulla Law: Forest Service’s Appraisal Process Flawed
In 2015 Hahnenkamm, LLC agreed to sell a 39.25-acre tract of land overlooking Lake Tahoe in Nevada to the U.S. Forest Service for $5.03 million. Soon after the sale, Hahnenkamm began to suspect that the sale price, which was supposed to be based on an independent,...
How to Prove You Have a Compensable Property Right
There are two elements to the taking test employed by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims: (1) whether the plaintiff has a cognizable Fifth Amendment property interest and (2) whether that property interest has been taken. The Court recently examined the first prong...
How to Prove That Your Fees and Litigation Costs Are Reasonable
At some point, every lawsuit ends. If the plaintiff prevails in a taking case, under the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Act, plaintiffs can recover “reasonable attorney, appraisal, and engineering fees, actually incurred because of such proceeding.”...
When Should You File a Class Certification Motion?
Class actions are often considered a favored way of improving judicial economy and efficiency where there are many plaintiffs with similar claims arising out of a single event. But those benefits can be offset by failing to move to certify the class early enough. The...
The Doctrine of Justifiable Uncertainty and Sovereign Immunity
What role do a property owner’s subjective expectations play in determining whether a taking claim has accrued in a gradual taking? Plaintiffs in a taking case brought by landowners in Louisiana, Biloxi Marsh Lands Corporation et. al, recently asked that the Court of...
No “Patch of Heaven” for This Flooded Plaintiff
Whether the flooding of private land results in a judgment of Fifth Amendment taking in the United States Court of Federal Claims depends on what evidence the Plaintiff offers to prove that the Government caused the flooding. The taking case brought by Ministerio Roca...
Your Guide on How to Protect Your Rights in Federal Takings and Inverse Condemnation Actions
Are you facing a taking from the government? Need to understand what a taking is and what you can do about it? Read our Takings Law Guide.