Three Questions with Bryan Huntington

What drew you to work in land use and eminent domain?  

Initially, I was drawn by the constitutional principles that underpin and permeate the law of eminent domain and land use.  Eminent domain directly implicates the constitutional requirement of just compensation.  Land use cases frequently involve due process and equal protection.  Any party fighting national, state, or local government is in a situation akin to David versus Goliath.  I enjoy representing the “little guy” in these cases because, in my opinion, doing so requires more creativity, diligence, persuasive ability, and skill.  Furthermore, I have a strong desire to expose government overreach, abuse, and arbitrary conduct at all levels.         

What challenges do you think the next generation will face in regard to land use?  

Increased regulation by local governments that create inconsistent and onerous requirements on landowners, developers, and landlords.  I am thinking of things such as rent control, restrictions on redeveloping rental properties (e.g., requiring payment of moving costs to existing tenants), jurisdiction-wide bans on certain uses (e.g., tobacco, vaping, mining), mandating for-cause eviction, etc.  Compliance costs will increase considerably.  There is a point where regulatory costs will cause developers to relocate their projects entirely. 

What advice do you have for an attorney new to the industry?  

My advice to a brand new real estate lawyer is to spend a good portion of your time reading about matters impacting your practice beyond black letter law.  For example, because I handle construction and home defect cases, I invested substantial time studying the building process (things like phasing, specialty subcontractors, building materials, interplay of various codes).  It makes you a better lawyer to have the context behind the specific legal issue you are confronting at any given time. 

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Bryan Huntington represents his clients in the enforcement of their property rights. His clients include developers, landowners, contractors, builders, surety companies, condominium owners, landlords and tenants. Bryan represents landowners and contractors in litigation and negotiation adversarial to governmental subdivisions (counties, cities, townships, etc.) and government agencies, including matters involving eminent domain, inverse condemnation, zoning, administrative law and payment disputes. He litigates contract disputes and is passionate about obtaining justice when misrepresentations are made during a real estate transaction about the conditions of real property.