Eminent Domain 101

Jeffrey W. McCoy | Pacific Legal Foundation

Jeff McCoy is a senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit public interest legal foundation. Jeff joined PLF in 2017 and focuses on property and administrative law. During his time at PLF, Jeff has won two cases at the United States Supreme Court concerning whether a property owner could bring suit against the government: Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco and Wilkins v. United States.

Prior to joining PLF, Jeff was a staff attorney at Mountain States Legal Foundation in Lakewood, Colorado, for five years. His work at Mountain States included helping secure victory for a Wyoming private property owner in United States Supreme Court case Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States. Jeff received his B.A. degree in political science and philosophy from the University of Colorado in 2007 and his law degree, also from the University of Colorado, in 2011. During his time at law school, Jeff had the honor of working as a judicial extern for then-Judge Neil Gorsuch at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit.

Nathan Farris | Ballard Spahr LLP

Nathan Farris works on a range of real estate litigation and transactional matters including: eminent domain, zoning and land use, tax appeals, historic preservation law, leasing, acquisition and disposition, and local tax incentives.

Sophia R. Holley | Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Sophia R. Holley, Esq. is a partner at the law firm of Keating, Muething & Klekamp in Cincinnati, Ohio, practicing in the Litigation and Real Estate Groups in Ohio and Kentucky. Sophia has considerable first-chair trial experience, including a complete defense victory obtained in a preliminary injunction hearing against an international company with over $23 billion in global revenue. Sophia also serves as lead trial counsel in Ohio for several of the world’s largest fast-food restaurants.

She represents clients in areas of land use and zoning, lease disputes, commercial and residential property sale disputes, boundary lines and easements, eminent domain, and real estate value reductions. Sophia’s unique skillset permits her to advocate for clients both inside and outside the courtroom. In her eminent domain practice, Sophia has obtained compensation for the taking of property in eminent domain matters well beyond the condemning authorities’ initial offers of compensation.

Eric J. Gardner, MAI, CCIM | Gardner Street Commercial Real Estate Group

Eric J. Gardner, MAI, CCIM serves as the President and Managing Member of Gardner Street Commercial Real Estate Group based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Gardner Street specializes in challenging Appraisal assignments including appropriation cases, tax appeal cases and valuation disputes. Mr. Gardner has been in the Commercial Real Estate business since starting as a Co-op student in 1992. He is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Lindner College of Business and currently serves as a Board Member for the Real Estate Center at UC.

He earned an MBA in Finance from the University of Dayton. Mr. Gardner has been an active MAI Designated Member of the Appraisal Institute serving in numerous roles including as a Board Member of the Ohio Chapter and President in 2009 and on the National Comprehensive Exam Review Committee. He holds the CCIM designation and is active in the Ohio CCIM Chapter. In 2002, he served as President of the Cincinnati / NKY Chapter of NAIOP. He has extensive valuation experience with Office, Medical Office, Industrial, Retail, Multi-Family, Land and Special Use properties. During his career he has been involved with assignments in over 20+ States and has reviewed and led assignments in South America and Europe.

Session I – Understanding Eminent Domain Fundamentals | 12:00pm – 1:00pm

• Types of taking (traditional eminent domain, Penn Central, Lucas, Loretto/Cedar Point physical takings, and Nollan/Dolan Unconstitutional conditions)
• Public use and pretext for private use
• Theories of how to calculate just compensation
• How to bring an inverse condemnation claim in both federal and state courts, and some potential procedural issues that may prevent a decision on the merits

Break | 1:00pm – 1:10pm

Session II – The Eminent Domain Process: Litigation and trial process | 1:10pm – 2:10pm

• Pre-taking negotiations, planning, and the Uniform Relocation Act
• Initiating a condemnation and public purpose
• Litigating just compensation
• Assembling the right team of experts

Break | 2:10pm – 2:20pm

Session III – Complex Valuation Issues | 2:20pm – 3:20pm

• Impact of zoning and land use regulations
  • Navigating land use restrictions
  • Valuing nonconformities caused by appropriation
• Unique considerations in valuation
  • Special use properties
  • Loss of access and landlocking
  • Collaboration with additional experts
• War stories
  • Application of complex valuation issues to real life scenario