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Thursday, January 12, 2006

Law - "What limits on eminent domain? Norwood [Ohio] case is key national test"

"What limits on eminent domain? Norwood case is key national test" is the headline to a story today in the Cincinnati Enquirer about an oral argument heard yesterday before the Ohio Supreme Court. Here is the beginning of the interesting report:

COLUMBUS - The Ohio Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on whether it was legal for Norwood to seize two homes and a business for economic development. It's the first test nationwide of last year's landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling on property rights.

Justices focused on Norwood's definition of eminent domain that it argues allowed it to take "deteriorating" property. State law typically protects neighborhoods unless they are deemed "blighted."

Attorney Dana Berliner of the Institute for Justice, which is representing three property owners, said that by Norwood's definition, communities across Ohio could be condemned if they have mixed zoning, dead-end streets or heavy traffic.

"The issue is whether a city can condemn for so-called deteriorating conditions which are common throughout the state," she said. "The city of Norwood is asking this court to completely tip the scales. ... There is a huge difference between blighted areas and so-called deteriorating areas."

Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer asked why a city should wait until a neighborhood becomes blighted to do something about it.

"The area didn't meet the blighted standard," Berliner replied. "There has to be something more than a belief it is going in the wrong direction."

Don't miss the sidebars to the story.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 12, 2006 09:12 AM
Posted to General Law Related