Winter 2005 – 2006, Vol 30, No 2

Abstract: Real estate investors should be aware of the current pronouncements from the United States Supreme Court regarding the powers of eminent domain. The United States Supreme Court in Kelo, et al .v. City Of New London, Connecticut, et al., re-ignited a long standing legal dispute over private ownership rights. The majority Supreme Court opinion approved the taking of private property by local government for redevelopment purposes and turning it over to another private use. The case, while settling the legal issue of the constitutionality of such a taking, also fueled a public policy controversy.