Eminent Domain: A Legal Look At The Ruling

At the end of its recent term, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Kelo v. City of New London,1 issued a controversial opinion involving eminent domain. The opinion addresses the permissibility of taking private property for the purpose of economic development or redevelopment. Objectors, including the Supreme Court’s four dissenting justices,2 have assailed the decision as an attack on property rights. Fears of targeted, selective property condemnation or sweetheart deals for developers, however, are likely exaggerated. When viewed in the context of the Supreme Court’s trend toward a more expansive interpretation of the Fifth Amendment’s public use clause, Kelo is more evolution than revolution. The development model approved in Kelo provides real estate professionals, including developers and those involved in local planning commission processes, with new methods for redevelopment solutions to several issues facing urban real estate.3