Waste Management’s purchase of a Douglas County farm property in 1989, for use as the Douglas County Landfill, proved to be a problematic transaction. Phases of the transaction, or matters related to it, have appeared in Nebraska’s appellate courts previously.
Recently, the Nebraska Court of Appeals ruled against Domina Law Group pc llo’s clients, invoking an old rule of real estate law, known as the rule against perpetuities. The Court of Appeals decision relied heavily on a 1911 Nebraska Supreme Court decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the Court of Appeals’ 1911 precedent. We think the 1911 case actually supports our position. And, we think the trend in the law in the past 100 years has clearly been away from a hypertechnical view of the rule against perpetuities,” Dave Domina said.
Domina Law Group pc llo’s Petition for Further Review, filed with the Nebraska Supreme Court, was granted, meaning that the State’s highest court will review the landfill decision.
Hanging in the balance is ownership of the Douglas County Landfill, now a biomass representing the State’s largest, most valuable, natural gas well. The methane gas generated by the facility is captured and used to create electricity.
Domina Law Group pc llo expects the Supreme Court’s decision in the case before the end of 2010.
January, 2010
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