Constitutional Law: Protection of Individual Rights: Procedural Due Process: Takings
- Takings: The 5th and 14th Amendments provide that private property should not be taken for public use without just compensation.
- This involves either confiscation or physical occupation or a regulation which leaves owner no reasonable economic use.
- Confiscation: public is granted an easement across landowner’s beachfront property.
- Physical occupation: all owners of rental units had to install cable wire down every hallway. Building owners wanted recovery; they thought this was a taking and the court agreed.
- No reasonable economic use: South Carolina passes a zoning ordinance which precludes buyer’s ability to develop his coastal property. Based on a zoning ordinance, the buyer could not use and develop his land. Court said this was a taking.
- Methods in which property may be taken:
- Eminent domain: power of federal/state government to take property for public use. Result: just compensation must be paid. Virtually every taking will be for public use. The government must have a reasonable belief that the taking will benefit the public.
- Inverse Condemnation: action by a government entity where property is taken without using eminent domain proceedings. Just compensation must be paid.
- Police Power: where state passes ordinance for health and safety purposes. This is not a taking, but rather a permissible regulation under the police power and no compensation need be paid.
- Just compensation is measured in terms of the loss to the owner in reasonable market value terms. The gain to the government is irrelevant.
- Government regulation is not a taking simply because it decreases the value of the property.
- Government conditions on property development must be justified by a benefit that is proportionate to burden imposed – otherwise it’s a taking.
- Property owner may bring a takings challenge to regulation that existed at the time the property was acquired.
- Temporarily denying owner use of property is not a taking so long as government’s action is reasonable. A delay for purposes of environmental study is reasonable.