The Kelo Issues Won't Go Away

In his latest column for Daily Journal, Manatt Appellate Senior Counsel  revisits the Kelo precedent issue seen in new cases, the latest in SCLS Realty, LLC v. Town of Johnston, RI. 

The case surrounds a lawsuit filed by SCLS Realty against the local government for allegedly condemning the land they planned to build low- and moderate-income houses on and instead claiming it for new government buildings. Without proper proceedings, the local government wrongfully invoked the power of eminent domain and secretly transferred the property title to itself before threatening the owners that they would be sued for trespassing if they did not vacate. The property owners filed suit, arguing that the municipal center was a pretext for the Town to ruin their development project, as there was no evidence of plans or needs for these new buildings. The local judge then issued a temporary restraining order for the government to return the title, with a hearing to be determined for a later date. 

“My best estimate is that pretext is going to be the first big inroad into the Kelo holding. And this case seems to have excellent facts to tee up the issue. The Supreme Court warned that its Kelo holding should not be used as a pretext to push the limits of the ‘public use’ restriction on eminent domain,” Berger wrote. 

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