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Inverse Condemnation

The following summaries are of recent published decisions of the California appellate courts, the Ninth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. The summaries are presented without regard to whether Severson & Werson represented a party in the case.

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Shenson v. . Cty. of Contra Costa, No. A164045, 2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 244 (Ct. App. Mar. 30, 2023)

A government agency cannot be held liable for inverse condemnation by reason of erosion caused by inadequate storm drainage facilities unless the agency owns those facilities.  Here, as a condition of approving subdivision maps, defendant county required the developers of two subdivisions along a creek to build storm drainage facilities in the creek adjoining the subdivisions.  The county also required… Read More

Ventura29 LLC v. City of San Buenaventura, No. B313060, 2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 50 (Ct. App. Jan. 4, 2023)

The trial court correctly dismissed this developer's inverse condemnation claim for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.  A city employee orally modified a grading plan for plaintiff's townhouse project while the project was under construction.  Plaintiff proceeded under the modified plan and grading permit without appealing the modification to the city's permit appeals board.  The decision rejects the plaintiff's argument that… Read More

Today’s IV, Inc. v. L.A. Cty. Metro. Transp. Auth., No. B306197, 2022 Cal. App. LEXIS 840 (Ct. App. Oct. 5, 2022)

The owner of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles could not state a claim for inverse condemnation or nuisance against defendant for the disruption caused by defendant's digging a trench down Fourth Street to build a subway tunnel.  In prior litigation, the court had determined that due to unstable soil conditions, an underground tunneling operation was infeasible.  An inverse condemnation… Read More