Inverse Condemnation Can be a Powerful Property Owner Remedy For Damage or Destruction of Property Value by Governmental or Utility Company Actions

Inverse condemnation can be thought of as condemnation in reverse. In a condemnation proceeding, the acquiring authority exercises its power of eminent domain by first offering to purchase private property needed for a public purpose; if no meeting of the minds can be reached with the property owner, then the acquiring authority has the power to take the property through condemnation proceedings in court that determine the “just compensation” to be paid to the property owner for the private property rights that were taken.

What Next, Now That Transportation Fees Have Been Ruled Illegal in Minnesota?

The Minnesota Supreme Court’s ruling in Harstad v. City of Woodbury, that cities do not have authority to charge transportation fees for future road improvements, has answered one big question for developers, but others remain.

Wisconsin’s Act 67 Could be a Game-Changer For Conditional Use Permit Applicants

The conditional use permitting process received a significant overhaul by the Wisconsin Legislature last year in ways that should be welcomed by property owners seeking such permits.

New Rights Available to Property Owners in Path of Transit Projects

Property owners in the path of light rail and bus rapid transit projects are now eligible to receive the full protection of the state’s eminent domain laws, thanks to legislation passed in 2017 by the State Legislature.

Individuals, Businesses Must be Justly Compensated When Property is Taken for Public Projects

When the government takes private property for a public project, both the United States and the Minnesota Constitutions require that just compensation be paid for the taking.

Conditional Use Permit Denial, Later Explained, Was Timely

Minnesota’s 60-day rule, which requires that “a written request relating to zoning” must be denied within 60 days or it is automatically approved, continues to spawn court decisions explaining how it works. Among other questions addressed by the courts is what constitutes a “denial.” The 60-day rule addresses one scenario, providing that when a vote on a resolution … to approve a request fails for any reason, the failure shall constitute a denial of the request provided that those voting against the motion state on the record the reasons why they oppose the request.”

Limited Partnerships Must be Represented by an Attorney in State District Court

In a ruling issued November 9, the Minnesota Court of Appeals held that a limited partnership could not represent itself in district court without licensed counsel. Minnesota courts have previously held that corporations and limited liability companies must have licensed counsel in court, but this is the first time a Minnesota appellate court has addressed whether limited partnerships also must be represented by counsel.

California Raisin Case Decides the Obvious: When the Government Takes Your Property, it Has to Pay You For it

The California Raisins made a comeback at the end of June in the form of a United States Supreme Court decision making clear that the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution (you know the one: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”) applies not only to real estate, but also and with equal force, to personal property. As the Court said recently in Horne v. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, “Nothing in the text or history of the Takings Clause, or our precedents, suggests that the rule is any different when it comes to appropriation of personal property.”

Environmental Review Becoming Tripwire for Southwest Light Rail?

Is the Metropolitan Council properly conducting environmental review for its 16-mile, 17-station Southwest Light Rail transit project (SWLRT) that extends through five cities from Minneapolis to Eden Prairie? This is the fundamental question raised in two federal lawsuits by affected property owners in Minneapolis and Minnetonka over the agency’s conduct of the environmental review process.

No Robbing Peter to Pay Paul: Court Holds Property Owner Cannot Rely on Cross-Parking Easement With Adjacent Shopping Center to Meet Parking Requirements for New Use

Many shopping center owners have reciprocal or cross-parking easement agreements with free-standing property owners located either within or adjacent to the shopping center parking lot. The Minnesota Court of Appeals held in a recent decision, reversing the district court, that the owner of the free-standing site cannot rely on a cross-parking easement agreement with a shopping center to meet city parking requirements for a new parking-intensive use on the free-standing site.

Van Cleve Discusses Lawsuit Regarding a Rochester Shopping Development

Gary Van Cleve was quoted in a PostBulletin.com article discussing a case between Franklin and Bonnie Kottschade and MnDot. Van Cleve is representing the Kottschades' who have been in legal battles with MnDot since 2003. Currently, the Kottschades' are seeking the right to install a driveway in front of the northwest Rochester shopping development. Developer Says Loss of Driveway Stalled Rochester Shopping Center, on the PostBulletin.com website.

Thinking About A Property Tax Appeal? Be Prepared (in some cases) To Make Financial Disclosures

The economic recession and the bursting of the real estate bubble have created great hardships for many property owners, if there is any silver lining, it is that there are great opportunities for owners to reduce their property taxes by challenging the assessed values of their properties for tax purposes. Owners of “income-producing” properties (properties that produce revenue through rents) who are considering filing a tax petition should be mindful that a legal requirement to pursuing such an appeal is that certain financial information must be produced to the taxing authority within a certain period of time after filing the petition—upon pain of dismissal for failure to do so.

Court Rules Ex-Wife Cannot 'Lean' on Lien Defense To Avoid Personal Judgment

If a husband in a divorce settlement gives up his marital interest in the homestead to his wife and receives a lien on the homestead in excess of $67,000, is the husband’s only remedy if the wife does not pay to foreclose his lien on the homestead?

Developer Who Sued State Gets $8 Million Jury Award

A Rochester real estate developer won a multimillion-dollar jury verdict this week in a years-long eminent domain dispute with the state of Minnesota.

Nonresident Parent Companies May be Liable for Claims Against Their Minnesota subsidiaries Under New Court of Appeals Ruling

The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently ruled that a nonresident parent company may be subject to suit in Minnesota for damages claims against its insolvent Minnesota subsidiary company. The decision would appear to defeat a primary reason for forming a separate subsidiary business entity: the protection of related entities and their assets from potential liability arising from the business operations of the subsidiary.

Property Owners’ Condemnation Bill of Rights

As a Minnesota property owner, you have certain constitutional and statutory rights when a local, county, or state government proposes to take your private property for a public purpose. Here is a list that we call our “property owners’ bill of rights” to inform and remind you of these rights.

Court to Township: Not a Smart Way to Establish a Cartway

"Cartway” is an anachronistic term that invokes pastoral images of hay-laden oxcarts lumbering down country roads. But the term cartway has real meaning in Minnesota law, referring to the procedure by which a property owner with no legal access to a public road may petition the local township to provide the owner with access—termed a “cartway” in Minnesota statutes. Cartway law attempts to balance the tension between the right of a landlocked property owner to establish access to a public road through neighboring properties, against the rights of the neighboring property owners not to be unduly disturbed and damaged by the establishment of the access.

In July, the Minnesota Supreme Court decided a case that addressed this balancing act and concluded, on the one hand, that a landlocked property owner must be given a “meaningful” cartway access, but on the other hand, the courts cannot dictate where that access should be.

Supreme Court Holds DNR Without Authority to Intervene in Local Zoning Decisions in Lower St. Croix River Area

The Minnesota Supreme Court has decided two recent cases that will remove a layer of governmental review from zoning requests by property owners in the Lower St. Croix River valley.

Is a Home Mortgage Enforceable if Only One Spouse Has Signed It?

Can a home mortgage be enforced if only one spouse signed it? The answer is, “it depends,” according to two recent decisions by the Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Road Improvements: When Are Special Assessments Legitimate?

Gary A. Van Cleve authored "Road Improvements: When Are Special Assessments Legitimate?" that was published in the March issue of Hennepin Lawyer.