Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals Holds Legislative Conditions Are Subject To Nexus-And-Proportionality Requirements

This post was authored by Robert Thomas, Esq. and originally appeared on the InverseCondemnation Blog and is reposted with permission. See, https://www.inversecondemnation.com/inversecondemnation/2023/05/ca6-legislative-conditions-are-subject-to-nexus-and-proportionality-requirements.html

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Knight v. Metro. Gov’t of Nashville, No. 21-6179 (May 10, 2023) held that conditions imposed on every development — and not just ad hoc administratively-imposed conditions — must conform to the Nollan-Dolan-Koontz close nexus and rough proportionality standards.

The Sixth Circuit has added to the growing split in the lower courts about whether legislatively-imposed conditions on development which cover everyone are, as some courts characterize them, mere land use regulations

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms City’s Sign Code Survives Intermediate Scrutiny

This post was authored by Tyler Doan, Esq.

Plaintiffs filed applications with the City of Austin to digitize existing traditional billboards and to upgrade signs with less sophisticated digitization. The Defendant denied their application because the signs would advertise for things not located on the site where the sign was installed. “In sum, off-premises signs could not be upgraded.”

A lawsuit ensued and the Sign Code was upheld in the district court and initially reversed in the Fifth Circuit as unable to survive strict scrutiny. The case was then appealed to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that

County employees to get pay increase

May 25—Most Flathead County employees will get a 4% raise while deputy county attorneys will see a total increase of 9% after county commissioners voted Tuesday to approve the wage bumps.

The commissioners unanimously supported the pay hike, approving several resolutions that increase pay for elected officials, along with union and non-union employees within the county. The cost of living pay increase is effective July 1. The increase for the deputy attorneys includes the cost of living increase along with a market increase of 5%.

According to state law, the county has to increase the salaries of elected officials by

Montgomery County primary election for commissioner upended ‘party politics as usual’ for Democrats

The Montgomery County Democratic machine isn’t broken. But it may need some maintenance work.

Attorney Neil Makhija of Lower Merion, who pushed for a contested primary election in the commissioners’ race over the objections of party leaders, won a spot on the ballot in November’s general election.

Commissioner Jamila Winder, who had the party’s endorsement, won the most votes and will run on a ticket with Makhija in the general election. But after years of carefully orchestrated local campaigns, Makhija’s victory Tuesday in a messy five-candidate primary disrupted party leaders’ plans for an orderly candidate selection process. The party’s system

Has anyone been sued more than the former president?

Donald Trump has faced an incredible number of lawsuits in his life. In 2016 USA Today found that Trump and his businesses were involved in at least 3,500 legal actions in federal and state courts over the three decades before that.

Some of those legal troubles are, notably, going on as we speak, while he’s running for president. Trump was recently indicted by the Manhattan district attorney’s office, he’s currently under trial for rape, and he’s facing two more federal investigations that could very well announce an indictment any day now. All in all, Forbes found that there are at

Attorneys General Push Back on Biden’s Attempt to Rescind Protection for Student Religious Groups

Below is a political press release from Attorney General Lynn Fitch:

In a letter sent Friday to the US Department of Education, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and 21 other Attorneys General urged the Department to retain a rule that compels public universities to comply with the First Amendment or lose grant funding – a provision put in place to protect religious groups on campuses nationwide. The Biden Administration is threatening to refuse this protection.

“Today, there is a war against faith and the right of the faithful to live their lives in accordance with their beliefs,” said Attorney General Lynn

Attorneys general asked for recall of Kia, Hyundai vehicles due to lack of anti-theft devices

More than a dozen states are calling for a federal recall of Hyundai and Kia vehicles due to a lack of anti-theft features.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 17 other attorneys general on Thursday sent a letter asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for a recall of “unsafe” Hyundai and Kia vehicles manufactured between 2011 and 2022. They accuse the automakers of failing to include anti-theft devices that were standard “in almost every other new car manufactured during that time period.”

“The bottom line is, Kia’s and Hyundai’s failure to install standard safety features on many of their

OH Appeals Court Dismisses Claims Challenging Ordinance Restricting Short-Term Rentals

This post was authored by Matthew Loescher, Esq.

Appellants, Douglass Ebner, 2253 Cedar Point LLC, and 2243 Cedar Point LLC appealed the judgment of the Erie County Court of Common Pleas, which granted summary judgment in favor of appellee, the City of Sandusky, on Ebner’s counterclaims that Sandusky Ordinance Nos. 12-107 and 17-088 were invalidly enacted and were unconstitutional. The litigation at issue was initiated on October 31, 2017, when Ebner’s neighbor, Judith Kinzel, filed a complaint against Ebner seeking injunctive relief and damages. Specifically, Kinzel alleged that Ebner’s use of the properties for short-term rentals was in violation of