by Elias E. Guzman

Eminent domain actions are guided by the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which guarantees that governments shall not take private property “for public use, without just compensation.” It is this notion of “public use” that was examined in the recent Supreme Court case Kelo v. City of New London, 125 S.Ct. 2655 (2005). In Kelo, the Court held that a local government body, or its agent, can in fact use eminent domain to take private property for a “private use,” as long as the taking is justified by being part of a larger economic development plan that helps or benefits the community.
Continue Reading Taking Kelo For What It Is Worth

by Joel Ellinwood, AICP and Janell M. Bogue

In May the Supreme Court announced a unanimous decision that changes 25 years of Fifth Amendment jurisprudence, eliminating the “substantially advances” test for determination of whether a government regulation results in a taking of property. In Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A., Inc., 544 U.S. 528 (2005), the Court said that the test first laid out in Agins v. City of Tiburon, 447 U.S. 255 (1980) was not appropriate for determining whether a government regulation requires compensation. This clarifies what was until now a somewhat murky and muddled area of law.
Continue Reading Hawaiian Case Prompts Sea Change in Takings Law