From the Ground Up
All Articles
City of Corvallis Loses the First Round of the Voter Annexation Fight
On February 24, 2017, Judge Matthew J. Donohue, Benton County Circuit Court, released a decision upholding SB 1573, which exempts certain annexations from voter approval. A number of cities in Oregon have home rule charter provisions that require vot...
Continue Reading >
Environmental Groups Seek to Kill "Zombie Permits"
Environmental groups recently sued the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”) over its alleged failure to renew permits in a timely manner. Most permits issued by DEQ under the Clean Water Act have an initial term of five years. According...
Continue Reading >
LUBA Decision Blocks Proposed Right 2 Dream Too Move to the Central Eastside
The City of Portland has been struggling for several years to find a permanent location for the Right 2 Dream Too ("R2DToo") tent camp, currently located at the corner of NW 4th and Burnside. An August 30, 2016, decision by the Oregon Land Use Board...
Continue Reading >
Isn't One Trial Enough? Jury Award Reversed and Remanded for Insufficient Evidence of Damages in Construction Contract Claim.
On October 26, 2016, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a general judgment and money award in favor of a general contractor because (1) the general contractor had failed to support its claim for damages for bonding and insurance costs with sufficie...
Continue Reading >
Controversial Cap on Damages Against Public Entities and Employees Upheld in Horton v. OHSU
While this case is not specifically related to the development industry, we believe the constitutional issues will be important to this blog’s audience and our public sector clients.
In May 2016, the Oregon Supreme Court upheld a controversial statut...
Continue Reading >
Lack of Evidence of Prior Use Not Fatal to Implied Easement Claim
On August 10, 2016, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued a decision on an implied easement claim, finding that the lack of evidence regarding the use of the easement before the initial conveyance of the benefited property was not fatal to the claim. Da...
Continue Reading >