Short Circuit 362 | Boil the Frog to Tear Down the House

Two cases, from the Fourth and Sixth Circuits, came out within just a few days of each other, and each was about a city tearing a house down. And whether that was OK. They came to different conclusions, partly because one seemed to have been litigated a bit better, but also for other reasons we discuss. First, IJ’s Christian Lansinger describes a Virginia property that wasn’t in great shape, but also where the officials didn’t act quite right before they tore it down for being a nuisance. Unfortunately, the owner sued too late for the court to address most of his claims. In Kentucky, on the other hand, the owner sued in time after being told he couldn’t appeal to the city’s property review board because although it’s mentioned in the city code, city officials told him it didn’t exist. The court was not impressed by this and allowed the case to move forward. Joe Gay of IJ brings this matter to our attention, along with an interesting concurrence about how our property rights have suffered from a slow boil. RSVP for our 10th Anniversary Party and Show on April 3d in DC! Listen to Bound By Oath! Click here for transcript. D.A. Realestate Investment v. City of Norfolk McIntosh v. City of Madisonville Robert Thomas’ blog post IJ’s Brody case The Wrong House by A.A. Milne