A Rare Example of the Beneficial Power of Eminent Domain

Usually the government surreptitiously works with developers to acquire private land through the use of eminent domain. In this case, however, the developer was the one who had its land taken for the good of the public. Read the article below and visit www.blynchlaw.com to learn about the many aspects of eminent domain. 

As discussed in the Kinston article, North Carolina native Danny Bernstein is an avid hiker-turned-author. She discovered there was very little written about the 12,000 acres of DuPont State Recreational Forest, which came to be through DuPont Corporation. Through her investigative journey, she discovered that in 1997 a portion of it almost became "a playground for the rich," when DuPont sold its silicon plant along with three of the forest's most prominent waterfalls to Sterling Diagnostics, a clinical lab production company, who later sold a portion of the land to a film manufacturer and another portion, which included the waterfalls, to a private developer. 

Though the private developer planned luxurious vacation residences, there was an enormous amount of public backlash. The letter campaigns and lobbying efforts led by conservation groups had a large effect and ultimately succeeded in preventing the development, as the state acquired the property through eminent domain in 2000.

Though governmental bodies are able to take private property through the power of eminent domain, but not developers, they oftentimes work in conjunction with developers or later sell the land to developers at a profit. Read the full, atypical story at https://www.kinston.com/subscriber/20200907/local-authorrsquos-latest-book-tells-history-of-dupont-forest. 

Nevada developer files an inverse condemnation lawsuit against the state

Read below about an unconstitutional taking by the state of Nevada, and then visit blynchlaw.com to learn more about a law firm that protects many facets of property owners’ rights, even in the rare cases of inverse condemnation. 

According to an article in The Nevada Independent, the developer Coyote Springs faces another setback in a “decades-long” struggle to develop a planned community 50 miles north of Las Vegas in Clark County. The issue stems from “over-appropriated” water rights, disabling Coyote Springs to use the property as planned, and the state’s hand in changing “the rules of the game,” prompting Coyote Springs to file the complaint. This is the second litigation filed by the developer against the state in the past two years. 

Read more in the September 1, 2020 article linked below titled, “Coyote Springs developer sues state for ‘unconstitutional taking’ of water rights.”  

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/coyote-springs-developer-sues-state-for-unconstitutional-taking-of-water-rights.

 

As It Often Does, Illinois Claims Police Power in Attempting to Avoid Paying Just Compensation

Read below about the government's attempt to avoid paying just compensation, and then visit blynchlaw.com to learn about a law firm protecting property owners' rights.

According to an article in The Southern Illinoisan, a group of business owners filed suit to obtain compensation for store closures in Illinois.  The lawsuit alleges that the Illinois governor's executive orders, which closed businesses to flatten the COVID curve, were unconstitutional.  Of course, the State of Illinois claimed police power, as it often does, but that's rarely the end of the inquiry. 
 
Read more in the July 28, 2020 article entitled, "Lawsuit seeking compensation for store closures in Illinois should be tossed, state says":

https://thesouthern.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/lawsuit-seeking-compensation-for-store-closures-in-illinois-should-be-tossed-state-says/article_a22fb592-30ee-56e0-b21a-78e2eab1d959.html

Unsurprisingly, a Government Tries to Use Eminent Domain to Get Something for Nothing

Read below about the government's effort to take private property for public use, and then visit blynchlaw.com to learn about a law firm protecting property owners' rights.

According to a Detroit News article, a government is using eminent domain to try to get something for nothing.  According to the article, “[a] nonprofit that once sought to purchase four dams in Midland and Gladwin counties plans to obtain them instead through a government taking known as eminent domain.” More precisely, the article notes that the dams would fall under county ownership.

The Four Lakes Task Force plans to begin condemnation proceedings related to four dams in an effort to acquire the dams at no cost by the end of the year. "The values [David Kepler, chairman of the Four Lakes Task Force] has placed on the dams are zero, that’s also false," the dams’ owner’s lawyer said. "He’s trying to get something for nothing.”

As law professor Charles Ten Brink is quoted as saying: by demanding the owner give the property away for nothing, the task force appears to be “begging for a fight." In short, when you're unsuccessful in your attempt to buy a property, get the government to try and take it.  Better yet, have the government ask the court for the owner to give its property in return for zero dollars and zero cents.  

Here's the July 20, 2020 article entitled, "Task force plans to use eminent domain to take dams from Boyce Hydro":
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2020/07/20/task-force-use-eminent-domain-take-michigan-dams-boyce-hydro/3287641001/

Decades After Buying Properties, Illinois Invents New Reasons to Revive the Peotone Airport Project

Read below about the government's effort to take private property for public use, and then visit blynchlaw.com to learn about a law firm protecting property owners' rights. According to a Chicago Tribune article, a decades-in-the-making project is inventing new reasons to exist – even after Illinois bought numerous properties for the project.

As the article notes, a potential Peotone airport has been debated for decades, but the proposal is gaining recent traction.  This is attributable to the idea that e-commerce companies could use it, and to the fact that a recent Illinois budget allocated $162 million toward environmental review, completion of a master plan, and road improvements connecting I-57 to the proposed airport.

IDOT started buying land for the site in 2002, but the airport’s proposed footprint is 6,000 acres.  Farmers and environmentalists say the airport would be a waste of rich agricultural land and public money, especially given the available capacity of Rockford, Gary, and O’Hare airports.  Specifically, O’Hare International Airport is adding 800,000 square feet of cargo processing space.  Gary International Airport expanded its runway four years ago, and recently built an international customs facility.  Chicago Rockford International Airport also says it has room to expand.

As far as the environmental impact, 1,200 acres of flood plains and 180 acres of wetlands would be destroyed by the construction.  The deputy director of the Environmental Law and Policy Center was quoted as saying: 
“Either the project proponents are right and we hear a giant sucking sound of jobs and people moving out of south Chicago and the south suburbs into what is currently farmland, and all the environmental destruction that goes with that, or the proponents are wrong and we’ve wasted hundreds of millions of dollars on something nobody wants.”

Here's the August 12, 2019 article entitled, "Does the Chicago area need another airport? Plans for a Peotone airport are back, this time with an e-commerce spin:"
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/transportation/ct-biz-peotone-airport-proposal-cargo-shipping-amazon-getting-around-20190812-nrhtcaku7rgvbmhkhtbtxyfz6u-story.html.