The Eminent Domain Podcast: Trying An Eminent Domain Case

On August 21, 2026, the Tenth Circuit granted the NCAA’s stay request in Wisne v. NCAA, temporarily restoring the NCAA’s age-based eligibility rules pending resolution of the appeal. Three weeks earlier, Judge Sweeney of the District of Colorado had issued a nationwide injunction that permitted athletes in the Class of 2022 to pursue a fifth year of eligibility.

The top ten largest class action settlements in securities cases in the U.S. have recouped tens of billions of dollars in damages.

A Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling harshly criticizes a federal district judge for relying on AI-generated content in legal orders, revealing fabricated facts and poor legal analysis. The decision raises critical questions about the use of generative AI in legal practice and whether lawyers who adopt such technology are compromising their ethical obligations of competence, confidentiality, and integrity.

On the morning of July 4, 2025, catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River took 135 lives across the Texas Hill Country. Twenty-eight of them—25 school-aged campers, two young counselors and the camp's co-executive director—were at Camp Mystic, a century-old girls' camp near Hunt.

A federal court in California denied preliminary approval of a $2.3 million data breach settlement affecting over 220,000 individuals, finding seven critical deficiencies in the proposed agreement. The decision highlights the rigorous scrutiny courts apply to class action settlements, particularly regarding claims-made distribution processes, inadequate documentation of settlement value, and unexplained disparate treatment among class members.

Two federal courts have reached opposing conclusions on whether expert witnesses must disclose their AI prompts during discovery. While one court treats prompts as discoverable methodology, another protects them as mental impressions while requiring disclosure of AI-generated outputs the expert consulted.

A federal court rejected TikTok's attempt to use two prior nationwide class action settlements—totaling over $93 million—to dismiss new privacy claims brought by minors alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The ruling hinged on whether the current plaintiffs were demonstrably members of the earlier settlement classes based solely on the pleadings, raising critical questions about the scope and enforceability of broad settlement releases in successive privacy litiga

An ICC tribunal has ruled in favor of Galp in its dispute with Venture Global over the Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, finding that Venture Global breached its obligation to declare the facility operational in a timely manner. This decision adds to a series of contrasting outcomes in similar disputes involving other buyers, with damages yet to be determined in a hearing scheduled for 2027 or 2028.

A US federal court confirmed a $350 million arbitral award against the Republic of Georgia and enforced a contractual post-judgment interest rate of SOFR plus four percent, compounding monthly, rather than the lower statutory rate. The decision demonstrates how carefully drafted contractual language extending interest "after as well as before judgment" can result in substantially higher recoveries for creditors in international arbitration enforcement proceedings.

Concora Credit has agreed to pay $9.375 million to settle a TCPA class action lawsuit over wrong number robocalls, with prominent TCPA attorney Mike Greenwald securing another major victory. The settlement includes over $5 million for approximately 147,000 class members, $3 million in attorney fees, and a commitment to spend at least $1 million on TCPA compliance over three years.

There has been extensive reporting and commentary on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653) since it was first introduced on September 30, 2026. Title III of the bill proposes a limited number of amendments to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Each of the proposed amendments is summarized below.

California's rapid expansion of data centers to support AI and other technologies has created an unexpected challenge: finding suitable locations for the massive electrical infrastructure needed to power these facilities. While the California Independent System Operator has approved new processes to accelerate connections for large electricity users, the real estate and right-of-way issues surrounding substations, transmission lines...

Elon Musk settles class-action lawsuits over his controversial $1 million daily giveaway during the 2024 election, while courts across multiple states grapple with fundamental questions about campaign finance authority, judicial ballot designations, and the FCC's role in regulating political advertising rates. These developments highlight ongoing tensions between election integrity, administrative authority, and constitutional protections in the American electoral system.

With the passage of Proposition 4 (Prop 4) in November 2024, California voters authorized a historic $10 billion climate bond, dedicating $3.8 billion explicitly to safe drinking water, drought preparedness and flood resilience.

California's Senate Bill 1153 has been signed into law, providing significant protection for public water systems against wildfire-related inverse condemnation claims. The legislation clarifies that water suppliers have no duty to design or maintain systems for wildfire suppression and that inability to maintain water supply during wildfires is not a substantial cause of wildfire damages. This landmark legislation may reshape liability exposure and insurance costs for water providers across the state.

Every condemnation case in Texas must go through an administrative phase in which disinterested real property owners (who live in the county where the suit is filed) are appointed as Special Commissioners to assess the market value of the property being condemned and damages, if any.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed AB 1130 into law, eliminating the penalty exemption for paid influencers who violate political advertising disclosure requirements. The new law, effective January 1, 2027, establishes joint and several liability between paid content creators and campaign committees for violations, fundamentally changing enforcement mechanisms for online political advertising compliance.

Here is a look at the groundbreaking recommendations from the SB 254 reports and other significant wildfire legislation introduced for the 2026 legislative session, which could fundamentally alter wildfire liability in California.

California's Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has increased the financial limits for political contributions and gifts to state candidates and officials.

In Guidehouse Inc. v. Continental Casualty Co., No. 1:25-cv-1601 (RDA/IDD), slip op. (E.D. Va. Sept. 29, 2026), a Virginia federal court held that an insurer was obligated to cover a $7.6 million False Claims Act settlement, subject to a $5 million retention.