Tulsa, OK might use eminent domain for new Drillers ballpark

Tulsa World staff writer P.J. Lassek writes today about Mayor Kathy Taylor's proposed $60 million baseball stadium and mixed use project for the historic Greenwood District. Although the city, as the Tulsa Development Authority, already owns the land where the stadium would be built, it does not own the surrounding real estate, which would be desirable if a larger mixed-use facility was designed for the site. Mr. Lassek writes in his article that backers of Mayor Taylor's project have indicated that it is "vital to have the larger footprint to create a successful project and spur further economic development."

Following the Supreme Court decision in Kelo v. City of New London (2005), the Oklahoma Supreme Court found that Oklahoma's Constitution provided greater protection than that of the U.S. Constitution with respect to private property ownership. The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that economic development alone does not constitute legitimate public purpose and concluded "our state constitutional eminent domain provisions place more stringent limitations on governmental eminent domain than the limitations imposed by the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution."

If not for economic development, what would Tulsa's public purpose be in acquiring those properties surrounding the proposed stadium site?

You can read P.J. Lassek's full story on TulsaWorld.com at http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080731_11_A1_hTheci336589

If your property is threatened by Mayor Taylor's proposed ballpark project in Tulsa or another governmental taking in Oklahoma, attorney Robert J. Nichols is the Owners' Counsel of America Member for the State of Oklahoma.

Jaxport Opts Out of Eminent Domain Taking After Jury Verdict of $67 Million

Brigham Moore Lawyers Prevail After Two Year Legal Battle

JACKSONVILLE, FL, Jul 29, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- After almost two years in litigation, the Board of the Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) has decided to abandon the eminent domain taking of Keystone Coal Company's 70-acre property on the St. Johns River.

This decision follows a recent jury verdict valuing the property at $67,410,000, which was the largest eminent domain jury verdict ever in Florida's state court proceedings. It also comes after a finding by the trial judge that Jaxport received a fair trial after it filed a post-verdict motion.

Previously, Keystone lost its challenge to Jaxport's taking of its property. Even though the company was considering an appeal on the issue of its constitutional property rights, Keystone was required to first proceed to a jury trial on valuation.

The jury verdict is remarkable since Keystone purchased the property only a year and a half before the lawsuit for $8,000,000. However, the evidence in the case showed that Keystone assumed risk that Jaxport was not willing to accept at the time of its purchase. Additionally, Keystone bought the property prior to the announcement of the Panama Canal's expansion, a market force which dramatically increases the prospect of foreign trade along the U.S. East Coast.

The case was tried by Andrew Brigham, Jackson Bowman, and Mark Natirboff of Brigham Moore LLP, the oldest and largest law firm in Florida devoting its practice to the representation of property owners in eminent domain proceedings.

"From day one, Keystone Coal President Tom Scholl only wanted to keep his property," Brigham said. "This is a great day for Mr. Scholl, and a great day for property rights. Apparently, the verdict was enough to turn around Jaxport's eminent domain battleship. It goes to show how a jury can level the playing field between an individual citizen and government. Tom never gave up. He was in the right place at the right time, and found a Picasso in a garage sale. When we got before the jury, we simply let the property do most of the talking."

Disclosure: Andrew Brigham is the Florida member of Owners' Counsel of America.

Property Owner Awarded $2.8M in St. Louis

A St. Louis jury recently awarded property owner Bill Simon of Alton, Illinois, $2,871,200 for the 2 acres of land he owned just north of the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis. Simon purchased the property in 1999 for $523,000 as an investment. Attorney Paul Henry explained "He bought it because the area had potential."

In 2005, the Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority of St. Louis took the property under eminent domain. The Authority valued the land at $1.25 million, an increase over the purchase price 6 years prior. However, not the fair market value determined by Simon's appraiser who valued the land at $3.6 million.

Attorneys Robert Denlow and Paul Henry, of Denlow & Henry, St. Louis, MO represented Mr. Simon against the city in the jury trial that occurred earlier this month. Denlow and Henry argued a successful case for their client basing the value, in part, on the city's own land planning designation for the property as that of a business and commercial district.

After 5 days of testimony, the jury awarded the property owner a $2.8 million verdict plus interest for the 3 years since the property was seized. A judgment amount totaling near $3.2 million for the property owner.

Missouri Lawyers Weekly reported that the city intends to file a motion for new trial. We will follow the case as post-trial motions are filed and update this blog accordingly.

This story was reported in the Missouri Lawyers Weekly, July 21, 2008, by Angela Riley. Details of the trial and verdict were also posted July 15, 2008 in STLToday.com and discussed by Alan Ackerman in his National Eminent Domain Blog www.nationaleminentdomain.com.

Denlow & Henry, www.denlow.com, is Missouri's premier eminent domain/condemnation law firm, based in St. Louis. Denlow & Henry have represented property owners throughout Missouri and the Midwest. Robert Denlow is the Missouri Member of Owners' Counsel of America.

OCA's Mission

With this our first blog post, we would like to explain our goals as an organization and what we intend to discuss in this blog. Owners' Counsel of America (OCA) is an organization which has sought to bring together the most experienced eminent domain attorneys in the country as a resource to each other in the defense of private property ownership. OCA members stand at the forefront of property rights issues, defending our constitutional guarantee to own and enjoy real property.

Condemnation, also known as eminent domain, is defined as the government action of taking private property for public use. The incidence of condemnation is increasing throughout our country. OCA seeks to advance, preserve and defend the rights of property owners in each state of the nation. Private property owners, whether large or small, corporate or individual, have the right to experienced eminent domain counsel dedicated to the protection of property rights.

This blog is intended to discuss the current events of eminent domain nationwide, the issues surrounding the defense of private property rights and the legislative trends occurring in every state of this nation. We endeavor to highlight as many victories as defeats and as many reforms as abuses.