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The Politics Of The Takings Clauses, Mila Versteeg
The Politics Of The Takings Clauses, Mila Versteeg
Northwestern University Law Review
A long-standing consensus exists that the arbitrary or excessive expropriation of private property by a country hurts its economic growth. Although constitutions can play an important role in protecting private property, remarkably little is known about how they actually restrict the power of eminent domain and whether such restrictions are associated with reduced de facto expropriation risks. This Essay fills that gap by presenting original data on the procedural and substantive protections in constitutional takings clauses from 1946 to 2013. Its main finding is that no observable relationship exists between de jure constitutional restrictions on the power of eminent domain …
Easier Easements: A New Path For Conservation Easement Deduction Valuation, Nicholas Carson
Easier Easements: A New Path For Conservation Easement Deduction Valuation, Nicholas Carson
Northwestern University Law Review
Conservation easements, a valuable tool in the conservationist’s toolbox, have grown increasingly popular since the 1980s, when Congress introduced changes to the federal tax code making easement donations more financially attractive. And with deductions reaching hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of dollars, conservation easement deductions are big business. However, expanded incentives and loosened regulations invite abuse, especially when the tax implications are large and donated easements are hard to value. Valuation of real estate remains an inexact science, dependent on inconsistent appraisal methods and subjectivity. Conservation easements can be even more difficult to value than other easements because, by …
Contested Shore: Property Rights In Reclaimed Land And The Battle For Streeterville, Joseph D. Kearney, Thomas W. Merrill
Contested Shore: Property Rights In Reclaimed Land And The Battle For Streeterville, Joseph D. Kearney, Thomas W. Merrill
Northwestern University Law Review
Land reclaimed from navigable waters is a resource uniquely susceptible to conflict. The multiple reasons for this include traditional hostility to interference with navigable waterways and the weakness of rights in submerged land. In Illinois, title to land reclaimed from Lake Michigan was further clouded by a shift in judicial understanding in the late nineteenth century about who owned the submerged land, starting with an assumption of private ownership but eventually embracing state ownership. The potential for such legal uncertainty to produce conflict is vividly illustrated by the history of the area of Chicago known as Streeterville, the area of …