I have not blogged in a while about any post-Kelo cases on eminent domain, but this one from Missouri caught my attention. The NFIB has take a strong position on this case.
The Missouri Supreme Court will be deciding a critically important case for all property owners. The court is being asked to determine if an unchartered city or county in Missouri can use eminent domain to take property belonging to a private business.
Only 2.9 percent of Missouri’s cities are constitutionally chartered, and two thirds of current eminent domain cases involve unchartered municipalities. A victory in the Missouri Supreme Court would therefore halt the majority of eminent domain takings in Missouri and could influence eminent domain cases in other states. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's devastating decision in Kelo v. New London, which opened the door for widespread eminent domain abuse
The case before the court is City of Arnold v. Tourkakis. In this case, the City of Arnold seeks to condemn the business property of Dr. Homer Tourkakis, a local dentist, who has owned the property for over 20 years. This is yet another example of how the Kelo decision has eroded the fundamental right of property that is foundational to our economy.
Dr. Tourkakis argues that since Arnold is not chartered under the Missouri constitution, it does not have the power to take private property through the use of eminent domain.
The state Circuit Court found in favor of Dr. Tourkakis and issued two interesting holdings: 1) that the Kelo-esque goal of the city's actions - to make way for the building of a shopping center - does not constitute a "public use" under the Missouri constitution, and 2) that the Missouri constitution does not allow unchartered cities and counties to utilize the constitutional taking power.
"If the Supreme Court of Missouri upholds the Circuit Judge’s decision, it would simultaneously end every taking by an unchartered city and county, and would also establish that Missouri does not accept the standard for public use that the Kelo case set out nationally," Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB's Legal Foundation. "This would be a resounding victory for property owners in Missouri and hopefully will influence other state courts to look closely at how their state constitutions' limit eminent domain uses in their states."
