Also known as: adequate remunerations · adequately remunerated · fair wages · just compensation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
Payment that fairly compensates an owner for the government's appropriation of property or intellectual property rights. The amount reflects the economic value of what is taken and ensures the owner suffers no net loss from the compelled transfer.
The federal marketing program directs Adam Anderson to surrender thirty percent of his raisin crop to a government warehouse. Adam retains only a contingent interest in possible later surplus sales. Because the government has appropriated a discrete portion of his personal property for public distribution, the program must supply adequate remuneration measured by the value of the grapes taken.
Ashford Manufacturing operates a long-standing industrial facility now rendered nonconforming by a new ordinance. The city grants a ten-year amortization period before the use must cease. If the fixed period fails to account for the company's substantial unrecovered investment, the ordinance risks effecting a taking that requires adequate remuneration to avoid constitutional violation.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Apollo Energy owns an aging power plant that a state heritage council designates as protected. The designation prevents construction of a larger modern facility while leaving smaller-scale generation and solar leasing possible. Because the owner retains economically viable uses, no taking occurs and the question of adequate remuneration does not arise.
Azure Solutions owns a vacant lot rezoned exclusively for open-space recreation. The new classification eliminates every realistic economic return from the parcel. The city must therefore provide adequate remuneration because the regulation has deprived the owner of all economically beneficial use of its property.
Adequate remuneration is measured by the owner's loss rather than the government's gain. Courts focus on the fair market value of the property taken at the time of appropriation, including any contingent interests the owner retains.
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No. An amortization period must be reasonable in light of the owner's investment and the nature of the use. A fixed period that fails to allow recovery of substantial expenditures can amount to a taking requiring separate compensation.
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A regulation that deprives land of all economically beneficial use constitutes a per se taking. The government must pay adequate remuneration unless the prohibited use was already barred by background principles of nuisance or property law at the time the owner acquired the parcel.
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Yes. The Takings Clause applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, so state and local actions that take private property for public use must supply adequate remuneration.
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