« State’s highest court hears Yards case | Main | Atlantic Yards Appeal Gets Intense in Albany »
October 15, 2009
Atlantic Yards eminent domain oral argument at New York Court of Appeals
NJEminentDomain.com
NJ eminent domain attorney William J. Ward explores yesterday's oral arguments before the NY State Court of Appeals.
Ward figures that the justices will be unwilling to dial back the definition of "public use" to the original intent, but may be more sympathetic to the arguments:
- that "blight" was used as a pretext to gerrymander the project boundaries,
- no analysis was made comparing the public and private benefits of the project, and
- that the State Constitution restricts the use of eminent domain for blight clearance for projects "restricted to persons of low income."
However, "the case could be dismissed without addressing the underlying merits or substantive issues" if the justices find the Empire State Development Corporation's argument compelling, "that the action in the state court presently before the court of appeals was not filed within the 30 day limitation contained in the statute, New York State’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL)."
Posted by lumi at October 15, 2009 5:03 AM