In this final and farewell episode of the podcast, we reflect on the many guests and therefore perspectives that we have had on the show, and the important issues we have discussed over the last several years. There is also a behind-the-scenes story from the early years of the podcast. Thank you to all the guests and listeners who have made this podcast possible. It has been a great joy and pleasure. Old episodes will remain accessible at www.eminentdomainpodcast.com. Farewell.

Robert Thomas of Pacific Legal Foundation joins us for a review of three impactful cases that eminent domain practitioners should watch as they work their way through the courts. We also get a preview of the 2024 ALI-CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference that will be held in New Orleans this coming February.

Click here for information and registration for the ALI-CLE conference.

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

Investigative journalists Brandi Kellam and Louis Hansen have uncovered the story of the Shoe Lane community in Newport News, Virginia, a middle-class black neighborhood that has been largely displaced and thwarted in its plans for growth by the establishment and expansion of a local university. Louis and Brandi’s work underlines the true impacts of community displacement in the wake of eminent domain, and the groups who disproportionately suffer those impacts.

Find their work here:

https://vcij.org/stories/how-virginia-college-expanded-by-uprooting-black-neighborhood

https://www.propublica.org/series/uprooted

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

Professor Shelley Ross Saxer joins the show to discuss the role that the damaging clauses found in more than half of state constitutions across the United States play in inverse condemnation claims related to natural disasters such as the recent Hawaii wildfires.

Professor Saxer’s book: Social Ecological Resilience and Sustainability

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

The overwhelming majority of eminent domain cases settle, and Stephen Clarke of the Waldo & Lyle law firm in Virginia joins the show today to share insights on negotiating and documenting settlement agreements effectively. We also talk about his most recent appearance on the game show Jeopardy!

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

Matthew Ackerman of the Ackerman & Ackerman law firm in Michigan joins the show to discuss what he has called “the pitfalls of objectively measured just compensation” – in other words, the ways in which fair market value may not make a property owner whole in the wake of a taking. Matthew also dives into potential reforms to address the intangible losses common in takings. Read more about this issue in his blog post here.

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

James Lang of the Pender & Coward law firm joins the podcast to talk about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA.  He also discusses the historical definitions used for the term “waters of the U.S.,” important in understanding the jurisdiction of the federal government to regulate land under or adjacent to waterways. 

Texas A&M Associate Professor Tiffany Dowell Lashmet writes on the EPA’s recently revised WOTUS definition here: https://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2023/09/04/epa-releases-revised-wotus-definition/

Additionally, Professor James Stern of William & Mary Law School joins to talk about the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights conference scheduled for October 26-27 at the campus of the William & Mary law school.

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.

Deborah La Fetra of the Pacific Legal Foundation joins us to talk about the case of Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico v. Cooperativa de Ahorro y Credito Abraham Rosa, a unique case where the boundaries of just compensation and governmental restructuring collide.  Deborah and PLF served as counsel for several of the unpaid property owners.

Additionally, Professor James Stern of William & Mary Law School joins to talk about the Brigham-Kanner Property Rights Conference scheduled for October 26-27 at the campus of the William & Mary Law School. 

Please share your thoughts on the show or this episode with me. I’m on X @J_Clint. If you have thoughts about future show guests or ideas for episodes, please let me know.