Land Use & Eminent Domain

Please contact Mark M. Murakami for more information.

Damon Key’s Land Use and Eminent Domain Group have been involved in some of the Most Important Cases in the Field

Our Land Use & Eminent Domain group provides a full range of legal services to our clients. We handle land use litigation before administrative agencies, trial courts and appellate bodies. Our attorneys have represented parties in landmark land use cases in Hawaii. $85,000,000 Is Price City Paid for 30 Acres Illegally Taken At “Sandy Beach” and Kaiser Aetna v. United States, Landmark U.S. Supreme Court Victory

Over the years Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert has repeatedly and successfully gone to bat for responsible landowners when, because of popular sentiment, government has decided to change the rules or the game after these owners have relied on them. Where justified by law, however, we also successfully supported conservation efforts, including the reclassification to conservation of the last privately owned land of Kawainui Marsh.

Our services include assisting clients with:

  • Environmental law
  • Contested Case Hearings and Appeals
  • Development Agreements
  • Due Diligence
  • Honolulu Rail issues
  • Involuntary acquisition, condemnation, eminent domain defense
  • Native Land Rights and Traditional Uses
  • Procuring Land Use
  • Regulatory Takings
  • Shoreline and coastal zone law
  • State and County Land Use Matters
  • Vacation rentals and TVR’s
  • Zoning, land use, and vested rights planning and litigation

Damon Key Attorneys Repeatedly Voted “Best Lawyer” and “Lawyer of the Year” by their peers

Damon Key attorneys are continually recognized by The Best Lawyers in America®, a leading resource for the best legal talent worldwide. Our attorneys have been named Best Lawyers in the practice areas of Land Use & Zoning Law, Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law, and Litigation-Land Use & Zoning in Hawaii.

They also have been named “Lawyer of the Year” in the practice areas of Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law, Land Use & Zoning Law, and Litigation – Land Use and Zoning in Hawaii. Only a single lawyer in each practice area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer review assessments. Receiving this designation reflects the high level of respect a lawyer has earned among their peers for their abilities, their professionalism, and their integrity.

Gregory W. Kugle

Lawyer of the Year

  • Litigation-Land Use & Zoning
  • Land Use & Zoning Law

Best Lawyer

  • Land Use & Zoning Law
  • Litigation-Land Use & Zoning

Kenneth R. Kupchak

Lawyer of the Year

  • Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law
  • Litigation-Land Use & Zoning

Best Lawyer

  • Litigation-Land Use & Zoning

Mark M. Murakami

Lawyer of the Year

  • Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law

Best Lawyer

  • Land Use & Zoning Law
  • Eminent Domain & Condemnation Law