Eminent Domain

I Oi Carlol

Eric Di Carlo

Professor Kessler

Business Law

March 13,2014

Eminent Domain

A big controversy in America today is the power of the government to use eminent

domain to take away private property for public use. Under the power of the constitution it is

legal for the government to take property away from the people as long as they compensate you

with a fair price and use it for public use which will benefit the community. However, the

controversy of eminent domain lies within the definition of public use which is most notable in

the case of Kelo vs. City of New London. In this case, the government wanted two buildings

which included a hotel, shops, new houses, and a museum. The government believed by building

these buildings they would modernize and help the city of New London become a business

district. The only problem is that people were living there, and the government would have to

buyout 115 people's homes. However, 15 houses including Kelo's refused to sell out to the

government complaining that they were not creating buildings that would help with public use.

The main argument for the case was if the government was really using the land for public use or

misusing their power of eminent domain. The case was so highly debated that it went up all the

way to the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 2005, five years since the government began using their power of eminent domain, the

Supreme finally made their landmark decision by agreeing with the city of New London. Before

the case went to the Supreme Court, it was first held at the Connecticut Supreme Court. At the

Di Carlo2

Connecticut Supreme Court, the states voted 4-3 in favor of the city of New...