The Little Guy Got Screwed Again... By Congress

Property Rights Bill Fails in US House

If you own a piece of property, and the state wants it, you might not have a defense against the taking of property by eminent domain unless you live in a state where such protections are already part of the state constitution. Don't count on the US courts to provide any protection given the precedent set by SCOTUS.

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday failed to pass the Private Property Rights Implementation Act of 2005, a bill that its supporters said would provide easier access to federal courts to landowners seeking to challenge governmental actions under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. The bill summary specifies that it would:

Amend[] the federal judicial code to provide that, whenever a district court exercises jurisdiction in civil rights cases in which the operative facts concern the uses of real property, it shall not abstain from exercising such jurisdiction, or relinquish it to a state court, if the party seeking redress does not allege a violation of a state law, right, or privilege, and no parallel proceeding is pending in state court that arises out of the same operative facts as the district court proceeding.

Opponents argued that the bill would entangle local and state governments in expensive federal court litigation. The measure was defeated 234-172.

Last June, the Supreme Court held in Kelo v. New London that a local government authority can expropriate private property - land, homes and businesses - for private redevelopment that confers economic benefits on the community such as more jobs and tax revenue so long as it is not just a private use of the property for private benefit. The controversial ruling gave prompted a rash of local, state and even federal laws purporting to increase private property protections.