Practice Areas
Practice Description
Alyson Suh is a Director and a member of Woodruff & Smart’s eminent domain practice group. She joined the Firm in 2007 and has been a Director since 2012. Her practice focuses on advising and representing public agencies in the project planning and property acquisition phases of major public projects. She has advised clients on infrastructure improvements for railroad, roadway, freeway, bridges and underground utility projects.
Ms. Suh has handled numerous eminent domain matters on behalf of public agencies and is presently involved in eminent domain litigation relating to public improvement projects for the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA), the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG) and the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). She has also advised the South Coast Water District, City of Newport Beach, the City of Orange, the City of Tustin, the City of Laguna Hills, the City of Garden Grove and the City of Palm Springs on planning and property acquisition issues related to public projects.
Ms. Suh has experience in all phases of the right of way acquisition process, including providing advice to staff during the planning phase of a project, review of purchase and sale agreements, preparation of resolutions of necessity, commencement of eminent domain proceedings and preparation of motions for prejudgment orders of possession. In addition, she has successfully resolved issues on behalf of her public agency clients pertaining to loss of goodwill, right-to-take challenges, severance damages and environmental challenges.
Professional Activities
Ms. Suh is a member of the Orange County Bar Association, Women’s Transportation Seminar—Orange County Chapter and currently serves as Newsletter/Communication Co-Chair for Chapter 67 of the International Right of Way Association.
Representative Matters
- Represents SBCTA in the acquisition of over 200 property interests for the $929 million I-10 Corridor Project
- Represents OCTA in project planning and acquisition of more than 300 property interests for the widening of 16 miles of the I-405 Freeway, a $1.9 billion project
- Represents SGVCOG in the acquisition of property rights for the 57/60 Confluence Project, which will allow for the travel of more than 100 million vehicles annually
- Represented SBCTA in the acquisition of property interests for roadway and freeway expansion projects. Involved in the negotiation, litigation and acquisition of over 150 property interests to allow construction of four grade separation projects and the I-15/I-215 Devore Junction Goods Movement Improvement Project
- Assisted in the negotiation, litigation and acquisition of 200 property interests for the South Coast Water District to allow a $90 million sewer tunnel improvement project and served as its Interim General Counsel
- Represented OCTA in acquiring property for the OC Bridges Program, a $630 million public project to improve 7 railroad crossings within Orange County
- Represented OCTA in condemnation lawsuits to acquire property rights for the construction of multiple railroad improvement projects including the Anaheim Layover Rail Facility and the Fullerton Turnback Rail Facility
- Represented the City of Newport Beach in connection with the Jamboree Road Widening Overcrossing State Route 73 project involving filing of a lawsuit to acquire property interests from a multi-tenant commercial building. Also successfully defended against a CEQA lawsuit seeking to block construction of the project
Education
- Pepperdine University School of Law (J.D., 2002)
- California Polytechnic University, Pomona (B.A., 1997)