Recent Developments in Condemnation Law: Public Use, Private Property

In Kelo v. City of New London, the Supreme Court declined to rule out future challenges to takings under the Public Use Clause if a condemner’s asserted public use or purpose was a pretext to hide private benefit. This article discusses several recent cases which concerned the power of condemners to take property, including challenges under the Public Use Clause. One of these cases involved a property owner whose land was being taken under the Pennsylvania Private Road Act in order to be turned over to a landlocked neighbor for the building of a private road. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that the Road Act may violate the public use clause since public benefits must be primary and paramount in order for a taking to be constitutional. Other cases highlighted in the article addressed findings of blight, appraisal practices, and whether a taking for a natural gas pipeline by a private company violated the public use clause. The cases illustrate the need for more clarification on the Kelo case’s implications for condemnation law.