Blog
A Class Act
In 2012, a group of landowners, later certified as a class, filed a taking case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, seeking just compensation for the Government’s “railbanking” of their land “for possible future reactivation as a railroad under the National Trails...
read moreOverworked and Underpaid
In 2012, Stephanie Mercier and Audricia Brooks sued in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims on behalf of all advanced practice registered nurses and physician assistants who worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Their complaint alleged that the VA’s national...
read moreA Lawsuit Within a Lawsuit
Under the Uniform Relocation Act, a prevailing plaintiff in a taking case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims may recover reasonable attorneys’ fees and cost. But all too often, trying to recover those rightfully incurred attorneys’ fees and costs results in more...
read moreForm Over Substance
Sara Makowiec began her Master’s degree at Rennselear Polytechnic Institute on January 23, 2012. The next day, she signed an agreement with Benet Laboratories, part of the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center. The agreement was entered into...
read moreTemporary or Not, It’s a Taking
Five landowners owning 14 parcels of land brought a takings case in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims alleging that the United States had caused a temporary taking of their property when the Surface Transportation Board, acting under the National Trails System Act,...
read moreNo Strike Zone
Hanover Insurance Company and Lodge Construction, Inc. brought contract claims under the Contract Disputes Act in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In response, the Government originally filed answers raising no affirmative defenses or counterclaims. Later the...
read moreNo Second Chances
On March 19, 2018, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims gave the attorneys for prevailing plaintiffs in a rails-to-trails Fifth Amendment takings case a severe haircut on their attorneys’ fee petition. (See earlier blog entitled Judicial Hair Cut). At issue before the...
read moreWhat Makes Land “Critical Habitat?”
Under the federal Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to designate land (or water) that a species occupies, i.e., lives (or could naturally live or grow) as “critical habitat” for an endangered species. 16 U.S.C. § 1533...
read moreChallenge to Riverside Fairy Shrimp Critical Habitat Designation Still Pending in Federal District Court in D.C.
On December 4, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a revised final rule designating approximately 57 acres of land in Otay Mesa in San Diego County, as critical habitat for the Riverside fair shrimp. Scientifically known as Streptocephaluswoottoni),...
read moreThe Supreme Court Welcomes Dusky Gopher Frogs
On January 22, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s designation of 1,500 acres of private forestry land in Louisiana as critical habitat for the dusky gopher frog, an endangered species. Weyhauser v. U.S....
read more