November 11, 2015: Firm partner Todd Amspoker and other firm lawyers represented the East Bay Regional Park District in successful eminent domain litigation against the United States of America. The Park District operates Crown Memorial State Beach in Alameda, California. The United States owned land adjacent to Crown Beach, and sought to sell part of its land to a home developer. In order to provide suitable access for the development, the United States condemned the main access road to Crown Beach, intending to convey the road to the home developer. The Park District sought to block the sale and the taking, justifying its objection on the fact that the citizens of Alameda had recently enacted an initiative which directed the Park District to acquire the United States’ property in order to expand Crown Beach facilities. Mr. Amspoker and other firm lawyers successfully blocked the United States’ effort to eliminate the Park District’s $1.4 million appraisal for the value of the road, and the matter was settled with the United States agreeing to sell its property to the Park District for park expansion purposes. “The community won with this agreement,” said Robert Doyle, General Manager of the Park District. “We promised in 2008 through our Measure WW bond election that we would expand Crown Beach with this valuable land,” adding, “the District has spent millions of dollars to maintain and improve this treasured public beach and has a long history in the community. We are happy to deliver on our promise to the community and thank them for their unwavering support during this lengthy process.”
