Also known as: just compensation clauses · just compensation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional command requiring the government to pay fair value when it appropriates private property for public use. The command applies to both physical appropriations and regulations that eliminate all economically beneficial use of land. Compensation is measured by the owner's loss rather than the government's gain.
The City of Knoxville rezoned Pine Assurance's vacant lot from commercial office use to public open space only. Pine Assurance could no longer develop or sell the parcel for any productive purpose. The city provided no payment. Pine Assurance sued, asserting that the total deprivation of economic value required just compensation.
Imperial Buildings operated a mobile home park for forty years under prior zoning. The City of Norfolk enacted an ordinance requiring all such parks to cease within ten years. Imperial Buildings had recently spent over $800,000 on upgrades in reliance on the existing permit. The city offered no compensation for the forced termination of the use.
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Luis Grape Growers received an order from the Federal Food Program Office to divert thirty percent of each harvest into a government pipeline for school lunches. Luis retained only warehouse receipts that might yield later surplus proceeds. The government took physical possession of the grapes without any payment.
Aurora Energy owned a riverside power plant that the State Heritage Council designated a protected industrial site. The designation barred demolition and major exterior changes, leaving Aurora with only smaller-scale generation and limited solar leasing. Aurora could no longer pursue its planned larger facility and received no compensation.
The City of New London condemned Joanna Jung's waterfront home as part of an economic revitalization plan. The city planned to transfer the parcel to a private developer for a research facility expected to increase tax revenue. Jung received an offer below market value and challenged the taking.
The City of Chicago widened a street by taking a strip of land owned by Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. The city paid nothing for the strip. The railroad sued the city in state court seeking compensation for the appropriation.
Yes. The requirement of just compensation for takings applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. State and local governments must therefore pay just compensation when they take private property for public use.
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Yes. A regulation that deprives a landowner of all economically beneficial or productive use of land is a per se taking requiring just compensation unless the proscribed use was already prohibited under background principles of nuisance or property law.
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Yes. The Takings Clause protects personal property and mandates compensation when the government appropriates it, even if the owner retains a contingent interest in the reserved portion.
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Amortization is a limit on protection of pre-existing property rights and must not amount to a taking without just compensation. Reasonableness depends on the nature of the use, the owner's investment, and the period allowed.
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…then sued in state court, claiming that the application of the Landmarks Law constituted a taking of their property without just compensation. The trial court upheld the law, but the Appellate Division reversed. The New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division and upheld the law. Held: The restrictions imposed by…