The 2005 Supreme Court decision on Kelo v. New London was a landmark in eminent domain law, paving the way for Pfizer to develop there. Four years later, Pfizer is pulling up stakes.
The City of New London won its Supreme Court battle against residents in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood of New London: the Court ruled that municipalities can use eminent domain to take private land and give it to another private entity for economic development. But it hardly seems like a win today as the Fort Trumbull neighborhood is filled with barren lots and the private developer - Pfizer - has decided to leave New London.
An editorial in the Hartford Courant sees a silver lining:
"Pfizer will leave behind prime space that should attract the kind of taxpaying tenant New London badly needs. And the adjoining Fort Trumbull neighborhood of modest homes taken by eminent domain and torn down to make way for an upscale urban village - and to entice Pfizer to the site - is now ready for just that kind of development, once the economy recovers."
Thanks to Rebecca Sanborn Stone
Read the full story: Pfizer's Leaving - But New London Opportunities Remain
Why Kelo is not a blank check
Last week marked the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. New London. The first time I read Kelo, I thought what many Americans probably thought: that any government could seize property for any reason, so long as it compensated prior owners. But after having taught Kelo to law students several times over the past few years, I now realize that Kelo is much more complex. Kelo was a 5-4 decision, and Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote a separate concurrence. Because Justice Kennedy was the “swing vote”, his decision predicts future Court decisionmaking more accurately than the Court’s primary opinion, because a taking which fails to satisfy Kennedy might not be able to get five votes in the Supreme Court.
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