The United States Supreme Court has granted property owners direct access to the federal courts for the resolution of eminent domain proceedings. The Court’s recent Knick v. Township of Scott decision overturns a 34 year old precedent which had required plaintiffs in takings cases to first seek just compensation in state court before bringing a federal action.
The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution provides that “private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation.” Pennsylvania property owner Rose Mary Knick alleged an unconstitutional taking of her land after Scott Township attempted to enforce an ordinance permitting public access to a cemetery located on her property. She was initially denied the right to bring an action in federal court but, ultimately, Knick’s case was heard before the Supreme Court.
In a 5-4 decision split along partisan lines, the Court ruled that requiring plaintiffs to first litigate takings cases in state court “imposes an unjustifiable burden on takings plaintiffs” and “conflicts with the rest of our takings jurisprudence.” Eschewing this precedent, the majority opinion provides that “a government violates the Takings Clause when it takes property without compensation,” triggering the property owner’s right to bring federal action at the time of the taking.
In a vigorous dissent, Justice Kagan maintains that the Knick ruling will “channel a mass of quintessentially local cases involving complex state-law issues into federal courts.” Arguing that land use ordinances—which periodically form the basis for takings claims—are ideally suited to be interpreted by state courts, the dissent suggests that federal courts will be swamped with condemnation actions that they are ill equipped to handle.
What is the immediate effect of the Knick decision? Choice. While the state courts were essentially the lone venue for property owners seeking just compensation for taken land rights, property owners now have the option to avail themselves of the federal court system. Will the speed of litigating eminent domain matters or the amounts of just compensation change post-Knick? Time will tell.