In an article titled“The State of Compulsory Integration in Pennsylvania” that appears in The Legal Intelligencer, Michael Joy, Robert Jochen and Steven Chadwick of our Pittsburgh office review the challenges oil and natural gas developers face in Pennsylvania. The authors argue that an established compulsory integration process will benefit the industry by providing a predictable permitting … Continue Reading
In an article that appears on Law360.com, Joe Marger of our New York office is quoted in an article titled "Developers Reaching Deep for Rights to Build Sky-High." The demand for sky-high condos and penthouse apartment has changed how property owners look at air rights. They are now valuable real estate assets. In an interview … Continue Reading
This post was also written by Joshua Leventhal In an effort to expedite the litigation process, reduce court costs and to offer contracting parties an alternative to arbitration, the New York State Supreme Court Commercial Division has adopted an “accelerated adjudication” rule, effective as of June 2, 2014, for all disputes exceeding $500,000. The “accelerated adjudication” … Continue Reading
If you are a landowner who owns land that came to you or your family through a land grant from the United States government and that land abuts or lies beneath what is now an abandoned railroad, then you might have a legitimate claim to say to the government, “show me the money!” A January … Continue Reading
This post was written by Lesley Vars and Leah Speckhard Prices for transferable development rights, commonly referred to as “air rights”, in New York City are reaching sky high numbers as developers scramble to build higher and higher. According to the Wall Street Journal’s April 23, 2014 article, titled “Sky is the Limit for Air … Continue Reading
The City of Chicago has prevailed in the latest round of a "no holds barred" battle with local property owners over the constitutionality of The Chicago Landmarks Ordinance. In a decision dated May 2, 2012 by the Circuit Court of Cook County, the property owners' claims that the Landmarks Ordinance was unconstitutionally vague and violated due process were rejected, and the court upheld the Ordinance. Hanna and Mrowka v. City of Chicago. No. 06 CH 19422. The landowners had previously won a highly favorable ruling at the appellate court level (in 2009), which raised the prospect of the invalidation of the Ordinance (as reported in a previous Reed Smith Client Alert) - a result that would have sent shockwaves through the historic preservation community nationwide. With the case remanded to it for decision, the trial court considered the due process vagueness issue in detail, including as to the clarity of the Ordinance's criteria for landmark status; but it was not persuaded by the property owners' arguments, and found that they did not meet their burden of rebutting the presumption of the constitutionality of the legislation, thus upholding the Ordinance.… Continue Reading
