Marzulla Law Blog
Taking Claim Dismissed for Property Owner’s Misconduct
Paul and Ann Nix own real property next to a railroad line in Marion and Hamilton Counties, Indiana. Following the conversion of the railroad line into a recreational trail under the National Trail Systems Act, they brought a rails-to-trails taking suit against the...
Bankruptcy Trustee Allowed to Sue State for a Taking in Bankruptcy Proceeding
Venoco, LLC operated a drilling rig off the coast of Santa Barbara, California. Following a pipeline rupture in 2015, Venoco could not get its oil and gas to the market, and ultimately was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2017. At first, the California...
Federal Circuit Rejects Taking Claim on Nature of Property Right— Not Police Power Theory
The Federal Circuit recently issued a decision in a taking case involving bump-stock-devices. This decision warrants close attention because in it the Federal Circuit did not adopt the police power argument advanced by the Government and used by the trial court to...
Court Approves 5% ($185M) Contingent Attorneys Fee Award
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has often been less than generous in its awards of attorneys’ fees, and rarely awards the full amount of fees petitioned for. Recently, however, the Court in Health Republic Insurance Company v. United States, awarded the full...
Procedural Trap for the Unwary Taking Litigant
Few procedural rules facing litigants in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims are as badly maligned as 28 U.S.C. § 1500. Referred to simply as “Section 1500” by seasoned practitioners, the provision has been called “outdated and ill-conceived,” “an anachronism,” and “an...
Are Expert Reports Really Hearsay? It’s time for a Fresh Look at the Admissibility of Expert Reports
For trial witnesses offering opinion testimony under Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 703, or 705, Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires the witness to prepare and disclose to the opposing counsel a written report that contains a complete...
IRS Loses Motion to Dismiss Whistleblower Contract Claim
John Doe served as a confidential informant for the IRS in a criminal payroll and corporate income tax evasion investigation. Doe claims that IRS agents promised to pay him a reward of 15% of any taxes collected because of information he provided to them about his...
Government Inaction Can’t Give Rise to a Taking, Federal Circuit Holds
On August 30, 2019, Bench Creek Ranch, LLC, owned by Paul Plouviez, sued the United States in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking over $800,000 in just compensation for the taking of the Ranch’s water rights in federal land covered by Bench Creek’s grazing...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument Teleforum: PennEast Pipeline LLC v. New Jersey
An informative discussion occurred on April 29, 2021 in a teleforum hosted by the Federalist Society on the PennEast Pipeline eminent domain case. The teleforum featured the Hon. Paul D. Clement, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Roger J. Marzulla, Partner at the...
Constructive Notice of Claim Enough to Start the Statute of Limitations Running
One thing that any litigant in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims should always remember is that, unlike other courts including federal district courts, in this Court the statute of limitations is jurisdictional and can be raised any time in the litigation, even on...
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.