One of the highlights of my legal career was representing property owners in County of Wayne v. Hathcock, a landmark Michigan Supreme Court case that overturned the controversial Poletown Neighborhood…
Read More
In an April blog, I wrote that The Practical Real Estate Lawyer was publishing my article, The Pitfalls of Objectively Measured Just Compensation: When Market Value Isn’t Enough, in its September 2024 issue. …
Thank you to Mitch Galloway for quoting us in his Farm News article, “ITC Transmission Line Plan Moves Forward in Eaton, Gratiot, Calhoun, Branch Counties.” As we wrote last week,…
The Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC (“METC”), an International Transmission Company subsidiary, has filed two applications for certificates of public convenience and necessity for the construction of major transmission lines…
As referenced in an earlier blog, Alan and Mathew co-authored an article in The Practical Real Estate Lawyer‘s May 2024 issue. The article is titled “Valuation of Partial Takings.” In…
Last summer, I wrote a blog about why just compensation—which is based on the ‘objective’ standard of what a property would sell for on the open market—shortchanges residential property owners…
* The following blog is an adaptation of the presentation Alan Ackerman and Matthew Ackerman gave on “The Fundamentals of Easement Valuation” at the American Law Institute’s Eminent Domain &…
One of the most common types of cases we handle is utility takings for transmission lines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation of wind and…
It was an honor to appear on today’s episode of “The Eminent Domain Podcast.” In the episode, the show’s host Clint Schumacher and I discussed my blog, “When Market Value…
In my last blog, I wrote about the shortcomings of compensating displaced property owners based on the ‘objective’ standard of the market value of their property. That standard ignores the…
When we take on an eminent domain case, our primary goal is to put our client in the best position possible. In some cases, that means fighting the taking itself,…
Our office routinely handles utility takings, which often involve partial takings of easements for transmission lines or pipelines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation…
In 2020, the Supreme Court of Michigan heard a case with outrageous facts. Uri Rafaeli, who purchased a home in 2011 for $60,000, was short $8.41 (plus $2.26 in interest…
As Matthew wrote in his blog this morning, on Thursday, we are presenting with Steve Davis on “What does it mean when the Supreme Court says just compensation is ‘self-executing?’” …
This Thursday (February 2), my dad and I have the privilege of presenting with Steve Davis of True North Law, LLC at the ALI CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation…