Courts

Bond Insurer Opposes Changes to Redevelopment Law
   Bond insurer Syncora Guarantee Inc. has filed a lawsuit against the state of California seeking to prevent implementation of a law that effectively killed 400 redevelopment agencies (RDAs).
posted 8/16/12 6:39 PM  read complete story

Idaho Supreme Court Backs State's Eminent Domain Claim
   The Idaho Supreme Court rejects a Boise business's attempt to win $7.5 million in damages and lost access rights after the Idaho Transportation Board (ITB) took aportion of its land via eminent domain to improve a highway interchange. The ITB took land owned by HI Boise, which owned and operated ...
posted 7/24/12 1:50 PM  read complete story

New Jersey Court: Cities Can Challenge Trust Fund Taking
   Cities in New Jersey can challenge the state's seizure of affordable housing trust fund dollars, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled July 13. The Fair Share Housing Center and the New Jersey League of Municipalities filed the lawsuit in an effort to prevent the July 17 ...
posted 7/17/12 5:34 PM  read complete story

NJ Township Development Case Reaches SCOTUS
   The U.S. Supreme Court is asked by a New Jersey township to overturn a Third Circuit fair housing ruling that neighborhood development plans violated the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The case, Mount Holly Citizens in Action. v. Township of Mount Holly, has been a four-year court battle over whether plan...
posted 6/26/12 6:30 PM  read complete story

Ohio Eminent Domain Case Could Limit Local Use
   The Ohio Supreme Court will rule later this year on whether federal commerce laws can prohibit the city of Gerard's use of eminent domain. The court on June 19 heard oral arguments in Girard v. Youngstown Belt Railway Co. Gerard sought to use eminent domain to expand its parks in 2006, taking more ...
posted 6/20/12 5:20 PM  read complete story

NY County Appeals Federal Consent Decree Ruling
   Westchester County, NY will appeal in the U.S. Second Circuit a federal district court ruling it violated a 2009 consent decree with HUD to address segregation, when it vetoed legislation prohibiting landlords from using income as a decision-making factor. The May 3 ruling by federal District Judg...
posted 5/23/12 2:23 PM  read complete story

Historic Tax Credit at Issue in Federal Court Case
   The future of federal historic tax credits could be negatively affected if an appeals court overturns a lower court's decision allowing their use to rehabilitate Historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. The Internal Revenue Service is appealing to the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals a ruli...
posted 5/10/12 3:13 PM  read complete story

CT Court Dismisses Claim against New London Development
   A Connecticut appeals court upholds a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit filed by the Fort Trumbull Conservancy alleging storm water pollution in connection with a 90-acre development plan in New London. The Conservancy filed the suit against the city of New London, the New London Development ...
posted 4/24/12 4:13 PM  read complete story

NY County Seeks $7 Million in HUD Funds After Ruling
   Westchester County, NY officials say HUD should return $7 million in affordable housing money after a federal magistrate judge rules that the county did not have to abide by a 2009 fair housing settlement requiring adoption of a source-of-income (SOI) law. The law, adopted in 2010, would have requi...
posted 4/2/12 3:28 PM  read complete story

Supreme Court Allows Landowners to Fight EPA Water Rules
   The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously gives property owners the right to challenge Environmental Protection Agency Clean Water Act enforcement orders on waterways or wetlands. The court's March 21 ruling in Sackett vs. EPA offers some relief to property owners faced with complying with EPA rules preve...
posted 3/22/12 12:30 PM  read complete story