Eminent Domain is Focus Of U.S. Supreme Court Takings Cases

摘要

The U.S. Supreme Court decided three property rights cases this term and found in favor of the government agency in each case. This was markedly different than in 1987 — the last time the court decided property rights cases. Then, the court found for the property owners in all three cases, including two originating in California: Nollan v. California Coastal Commission and First English Evangelical Church v. County of Los Angeles. The current trio involves one California case: San Remo Hotel v. City and County of San Francisco. These cases probably should not be read as an unequivocal endorsement of land use regulation, just as it would have been wrong to have read the court's 1987 opinions as a severe limitation on government's regulatory authority. Instead, the court is landing on the middle ground issues of fairness and deference to legislative decision-making.