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Preview—Lac Courte Orielles Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa V. Evers: Just How Special Is Indian Law?, Zachary M. Krumm

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Monday, November 8, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. at Everett McKinley Dirksen Courthouse in Chicago, Illinois. This case asks whether states may assess property taxes on Indian-owned reservation fee lands that were allotted under treaty, not the General Allotment Act. The lower court held that reservation allotments which had at any time been owned by non-tribal-members could be subject to state property tax. Allotments always held by members remained exempt. While this issue is somewhat narrow, it raises broad questions about applying the well-established Indian canons of construction.

Virginia Uranium, Inc. V. Warren, Nyles G. Greer

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States recently ruled that the Atomic Energy Act did not preempt a Virginia law prohibiting uranium mining in the Commonwealth. The Court held that although the Act delegated substantial power over the nuclear life cycle to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, it offered no indication that Congress sought to strip states of their traditional power to regulate mining on private lands within their borders.

American Legion V. American Humanist Association, Seth T. Bonilla

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The separation of church and state is a key element of American democracy, but its interpretation has been challenged as the country grows more diverse. In American Legion v. American Humanist Association, the Supreme Court adopted a new standard to analyze whether a religious symbol on public land maintained by public funding violated the Constitution’s Establishment Clause.

Maralex Resources, Inc. V. Barnhardt, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Maralex Resources v. Barnhardt, Maralex and property owners brought an action to protect private property from BLM inspections of oil and gas lease sites. The Tenth Circuit looked at the plain meaning of a congressional statute and held in favor of Maralex, finding that BLM lacked authority to require a private landowner to provide BLM with a key to inspect wells of their property. The Tenth Circuit held BLM has the authority to conduct inspections without prior notice on private property lease sites; however, it is required to contact the property owner for permission before entering the property.

Martin V. United States, Mitch L. Werbell V

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Martin v. United States, the Federal Circuit Court dismissed a Fifth Amendment regulatory takings and exaction claim for want of ripeness when the claimant failed to apply for a permit, which would have allowed for an assessment of the cost of compliance with governmentally imposed requirements. By finding the claim unripe, the court stood firm on the historical view that federal courts may only adjudicate land-use regulatory takings and inverse condemnation claims on the merits after a regulating entity has made a final decision. However, jurisprudential evolution of the ripeness doctrine and judicial review of takings claims may …

Upper Skagit Indian Tribe V. Lundgren, Brett Berntsen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Stemming from a property dispute between a private landowner and the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe, this action evolved into a debate concerning the scope of tribal sovereign immunity and whether Indian tribes should be bound by certain common law doctrines applicable to most other sovereigns. The Washington Supreme Court originally ruled against the Tribe, citing County of Yakima v. Confederated Tribes and Bands of Yakima Nation in holding that sovereign immunity does not apply to in rem actions. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to clarify that its ruling in Yakima did not support such a proposition. The case …

Upstate Citizens For Equality, Inc. V. United States, Kirsa Shelkey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1935 is the proper avenue for Tribes pursuing restoration of their historic trust lands. The Oneida Indian Nation of New York long sought to reassert tribal jurisdiction over its historic homeland in Central New York. These efforts were largely unsuccessful until 2008 when the United States took 13,000 acres of this historic homeland into trust on behalf of the Tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act. This case affirms the federal government’s plenary powers over Indian Tribes, and that neither state sovereignty principles, nor the Enclave Clause upset that authority.

California Department Of Toxic Substances Control V. Westside Delivery, Llc, Mitch L. Werbell V

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Ninth Circuit’s recent decision in California Department of Toxic Substances Control v. Westside Delivery, LLC reminds prospective purchasers of tax-defaulted property of their responsibility for due diligence.The case addressed the reach of the third-party defense to a CERCLA cost recovery action. The court determined that CERCLA’s third-party defense did not apply to a company which purchased a contaminated property at a tax auction because of its “contractual relationship” with the former owner-polluter and because the relevant contaminating acts occurred “in connection with” the prior polluter’s ownership of the site.

Markle Interest, L.L.C. V. U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Peter B. Taylor

Public Land & Resources Law Review

This action is an appeal of a grant of summary judgment to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service on the designation of critical-habitat for the dusky gopher frog under the ESA. Landowner appellants originally sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the Service, the Department of Interior, and agency officials challenging the designation of their private property as critical-habitat for the dusky gopher frog. The court’s holdings recognize loss of property value as a “particularized injury” for standing under the ESA in addition to addressing the landowners’ three principal arguments: 1) the critical habitat designation violated the ESA and the …

Asarco Llc V. Atlantic Richfield Company, Ryan L. Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabiltiy Act, commonly known as CERCLA, facilitates cleanup of hazardous waste sites and those contaminated by other harmful substances by empowering the Environmental Protection Agency to identify responsible parties and require them to undertake or fund remediation. Because pollution sometimes occurrs over long periods of time by multiple parties, CERCLA also enables polluters to seek financial contribution from other contaminators of a particular site. The Ninth Circuit clarified the particuar circumstances under which contribution actions may arise in Asarco LLC v. Atlantic Richfield Co., holding non-CERCLA settlements may give rise to CERCLA contribution …

Herr V. U.S. Forest Service, Peter B. Taylor

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Herr v. U. S. Forest Service, the Sixth Circuit ruled on whether the Forest Service could infringe on pre-existing private property rights held adjacent to a designated Wilderness Area. The Herrs purchased lakefront property adjacent to the Sylvania Wilderness in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan with the intention of using their littoral rights for recreational boating. The Sylvania Wilderness was created under the Michigan Wilderness Act in 1987, but the Act observed valid existing rights. The court found that the Herrs’ littoral rights were recognizable “valid existing rights.” Therefore, the Forest Service’s restriction of those rights was illegal.

United States V. Osage Wind, Llc, Summer Carmack

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Osage Nation, as owner of the beneficial interest in its mineral estate, issues federally-approved leases to persons and entities who wish to conduct mineral development on its lands. After an energy-development company, Osage Wind, leased privately-owned surface lands within Tribal reservation boundaries and began to excavate minerals for purposes of constructing a wind farm, the United States brought suit on the Tribe’s behalf. In the ensuing litigation, the Osage Nation insisted that Osage Wind should have obtained a mineral lease from the Tribe before beginning its work. In its decision, the Tenth Circuit applied one of the Indian law …

United States V. Gila Valley Irrigation District, Ryan L. Hickey

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Attempts to alter water use agreements, especially those spanning back decades or even centuries, elicit intense scrutiny from water rights holders. In United States v. Gila Valley Irrigation Dist., the Ninth Circuit upheld application of a 1935 Decree apportioning water among various regional entities, including two Indian tribes, to bar a mineral company from transferring water rights between properties within the Gila River drainage.

Murr V. Wisconsin, Nathan A. Burke

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Murr v. Wisconsin, the Court redefined how to determine private property for a regulatory taking under the Fifth Amendment. Previously, courts have primarily relied on state property principles to determine the relevant unit of property for a regulatory takings claim. However, in this case, the Court adopted a three-factor standard to determine the landowner’s reasonable expectations regarding the treatment of their property. By relying on these factors rather than only on state laws, the Court created a litigation-specific definition of property that could potentially differ from state property boundaries. The three-factor standard may also give the government an …

Mauna Kea Anaina Hou V. Board Of Land And Natural Resources, Wesley J. Furlong

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Native Hawaiians and the scientific community have been pitted against each other in a decades-long culture war over the construction of observatories and telescopes on sacred landscapes. In Mauna Kea Anaina Hou, the Hawai’i Supreme Court handed a victory to Native Hawaiian culture and rights by halting the construction of a new telescope on Mauna Kea. The decision must be read cautiously, however, as it is firmly rooted in the strict application of procedural due process.

Agdaagux Tribe Of King Cove V. Jewell, Taylor R. Thompson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In a lengthy opinion by the Alaska District Court, the battle for a proposed medical emergency road through the Izembek National Refuge stalled. The court held that the Department of the Interior’s No Action Alternative blocked the construction of the road was decided in accordance within the Department’s authority. It is not the end of the battle over the road, as the court alluded that Congress may be able to change this decision.

Koontz V. St. Johns River Water Management District, Ross Keogh

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Koontz extends the application of Nollan and Dolan, which require exactions of real property for land-use permits to share a “nexus” and be “roughly proportional” to the regulation to be constitutional. A divided United States Supreme Court held that “monetary exactions,” potentially including building permit fees or impact fees, must satisfy the Nollan and Dolan requirements even if the government denies the permit.[1] The Court did not reach the merits of the petitioner’s appeal.

[1](Kagan, Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor, JJ., dissenting).

Stop The Beach Renourishment Stops Private Beachowners' Right To Exclude The Public, Kristen G. Juras, Sydney F. Ansbacher, Robert K. Lincoln

Faculty Law Review Articles

In this article, the authors examine the various measures implemented by state and local governments to enhance public access to and use of government-owned tidelands, streambeds, and lake shores and how, although not necessarily titled as such, many of these measures result, without payment of compensation, in an easement allowing public access to and use of private waterfront property.

Section I describes the rights of riparian property owners and the right of the public to use government-owned shores and tidelands, followed by a general overview of various state legislative and judicial responses designed to address the conflicts that arise when …

Unbundling Property In Water, Sandra B. Zellmer, Jessica Harder

Faculty Law Review Articles

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that, in the foreseeable future, climate change will exacerbate water problems worldwide. In the United States, we are likely to see more severe flooding, more frequent droughts, and a rush to secure legal rights to water supplies. Sustainable management of water resources for present and future generations will become all the more imperative as we face increasing pressure on limited supplies. The quest for sustainable management has stimulated a movement for greater recognition of private property rights to attain efficient use and allocation of water. The World Bank and the International …

Is Water Property?, Sandra B. Zellmer, Jessica Harder

Faculty Law Review Articles

One of the most controversial issues in natural resources law is whether interests in water are property. In the western United States, water is typically viewed by appropriators as a form of private property, while in the East it is not. In either case, the law is surprisingly unsettled, notwithstanding the important consequences that follow, particularly under constitutional takings jurisprudence. Treating water as property has significant implications for investment, conservation and environmental protection as well. Establishing secure property rights can foster stewardship and wise investment of labor and capital. By the same token, the absence of property ownership can result …

Not In My Backyard: The Clash Between Native Hawaiian Gathering Rights And Western Concepts Of Property In Hawaii, Samuel J. Panarella

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines the uneasy truce that exists between Western property law and the original Hawaiian native gathering practices that existed before the arrival of Europeans. The author traces the development of Hawaiian law from early cases that severely restricted gathering rights to more permissive results. The article demonstrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the present system of land tenure in Hawaii and argues for the continued expansion of native Hawaiian gather rights providing such expansion takes place within, not outside of, the dominant fee simple land tenure system now in place in Hawaii.

Condominiums, Reform, And The Unit Ownership Act, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article assesses the Montana Unit Ownership Act (UOA), the condominium statute adopted by the Montana legislature in the 1960s. Part II sketches the nature and history of condominium ownership. Part III provides the history, organization, language, and essential purpose of UOA. Part IV offers a philosophy for reform and concludes that the Montana legislature should amend the UOA rather than replace it. Part V makes detailed recommendations for such reform.

Consent, Coercion, And "Reasonableness" In Private Law: The Special Case Of The Property Owners, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines property owner association decision making and the current standards of judicial review that prevail in reported cases.

Part II outlines the factual and legal background of property owner associations. Part III provides an overview of the consent/coercion debate. Part IV addresses regulation without consent. Part V analyzes measuring utility under the efficiency principle. Part VI examines measuring harm under the unanimity and compensation principles. Part VII explores protection of personhood interests.

Running With The Land In Montana, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines Montana statutory sections on covenants running with the land and their life in the Montana courts. Part II outlines the common law of running covenants as it appeared on the eve of codification. Part III describes the origin and theory of the Field Civil Code. Part IV examines the original intent of the codifiers and legislature that adopted the statutes regulating land covenants. Part V reviews relevant Montana case law regarding these statutes. Part VI offers suggestions regarding changes in Montana jurisprudence of land covenants.

Comments On The Historiography Of Condominium: The Myth Of Roman Origin, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article seeks to dispel the common perception that the condominium is an institution peculiarly Roman. The article attempts to set the record straight and to trace a course of events that is symptomatic of underlying problems in American legal scholarship.

Part II outlines the considerations which render it improbable that anything like modern condominium existed in Roman civil law. Part III is a short sketch of the actual history of condominium. Part IV traces the process by which the fable of Roman origin crept throughout American legal literature. Part V explains, in reverse chronological order, how a now-discredited European …

Mending The Social Compact: Expectancy Damages For Common Property Defects In Condominiums And Other Planned Communities, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines one of the most significant forms of common property lawsuits that has resulted as the number of planned communities has grown -- the action against the community developer for alleged construction defects and plaintiff's seeking expectancy damages. Noting that an adequate guide for measuring expectancy damages in common property defects cases has not yet been developed, this article suggests several mechanisms by which damages in these cases can be measured and allocated in a straightforward manner.

Keeping Faith: Fiduciary Obligations In Property Owners Associations, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

No abstract provided.

Colorado "Buyer Brokerage": Does It Still Exist After Velten V. Robertson?, Robert G. Natelson

Faculty Law Review Articles

This article examines the decision in Velten v. Robertson which raises serious questions as to whether a purchaser of real property can employ a real estate broker on a commission basis with full confidence that the broker will be able to avoid conflicts of interest and thus limits effective commissioned real estate brokerage in Colorado to the representation of sellers.