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December 10, 2009
Questioning Manhattanville
The Eye [Columbia Spectator]
by Amanda Cormier
Columbia Real Estate Law Professor Michael Heller weighs in Columbia eminent domain vs. Atlantic Yards eminent domain.
How will the recent Atlantic Yards decision affect the appeal?
The Atlantic Yards decision was by this higher court. It came out just recently and was essentially the same issue, and it went the other way, in a 6-1 vote. What that suggests to me—the intermediate decision going the other way, although it has very similar facts and very similar legal issues—is that it doesn’t have the deepest legal grounding. It seems to run against New York law, which is the Atlantic Yards decision, and federal law, which is the Kilo [sic] case of a few years ago.
What are the odds the Supreme Court would rule on this case?
You can never know the odds of the outcome of a particular case. If you look at the Atlantic Yards decision, it suggests that the highest New York court reads New York law consistent with federal law in this area, which would tend toward allowing use of eminent domain in this very ordinary example of it. But that said, you never know if they’ll want to change their understanding of the law. All eminent-domain cases are very fact-specific.
NoLandGrab: Except sometimes those facts are made up, as in the "facts" put forth by the Empire State Development Corporation.
Posted by eric at December 10, 2009 5:37 PM