On June 21, 2019 the United States Supreme Court ruled in an eminent domain case that is sure to have long lasting ramifications, Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania.
The Township of Scott, PA originated a local ordinance mandating that all cemeteries be open to the public during daylight hours. The problem was, there are several private, family cemeteries in Scott. Cemeteries that date back generations. Rose Marie Knick is one of those property owners.
She was noticed by the Town of Scott, that she was in violation of the ordinance since her property was not open to the public during daylight hours.
Rose Marie Knick filed a takings claim in state court and the Town of Scott withdrew the notice of violation and stayed enforcement. With this action, the state courts ruled there was no harm. So, Rose Marie Knick filed a Fifth Amendment takings claim in Federal Court.
The District Court dismissed her suit and the Third Circuit affirmed that decision. Both courts sighted Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City.
You can read a contemporaneous review of the case from Berkeley Law written by James D. Smith to get an idea of how “settled” this Catch-22 was considered to be. The article is entitled:
Ripeness for Taking Clause: Finality and exhaustion in Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City
In Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, the majority concluded:
“that the state litigation requirement imposes an unjustified burden on taking plaintiffs, conflicts with the rest of our takings jurisprudence and must be overruled. A property owner has an actionable Fifth Amendment takings claim when the government takes his property without paying for it.”
Majority Justices:
Chief Justice Roberts (authored opinion), Thomas (concurring opinion), Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
Minority Justices:
Kagan (authored Dissent), Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor
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