Arent Fox partner Thor Hearne will be a featured speaker and faculty member at the ALI-ABA Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference to be held February 17-19, 2011 at the Hyatt Regency Coral Gables in Coral Gables, Florida.

The two-day event will examine how the power of eminent domain is being reshaped across the nation by court rulings and legislation. Much of the recent court activity and legislation has involved the controversial use, or attempted use, of eminent domain power to take private property for economic development by private parties. Redevelopment, however, is not the only fluid area in takings law. This national conference addresses those areas where new developments in the law and procedure have and will reshape the practice. Attendees will learn what’s new in the cutting edge areas of eminent domain law and how the practice in this field continues to evolve.

Twenty-five courses and breakout sessions covering substantive and practice topics that affect eminent domain practitioners comprise the event.

Mr. Hearne will speak on 9:00 am, Friday, February 18, 2011, discussing “The Just Compensation Failings of the Rails-To-Trails Program.”

Mr. Hearne is a nationally known authority in constitutional and eminent domain litigation. In 2010, he successfully argued two cases -- Bright, et al. v. United States and Ladd, et al. v. United States -- before the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which resulted in victories for landowners seeking their Fifth Amendment right to be compensated for property taken from them by the federal government. Mr. Hearne is also represents the Montana Farm Bureau in an amicus brief filed with the United States Supreme Court in PPL Montana, Inc. v. State of Montana. The Cato Institute has joined the brief asking the Supreme Court to overturn a Montana decision which took substantial property from private Montana owners when the Montana Supreme Court redefined property law and announced the state - and not the private owners - held title to this land. Mr. Hearne is joined on this amicus brief by Arent Fox attorney Steve Haskins.

To learn more about the ALI-ABA Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Litigation Conference, please click here.