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Just Compensation For Real Estate Condemnation, Thomas L. Dettelbach

Cleveland State Law Review

The purpose of the requirement of just compensation contained in the United States Constitution, where private property is taken for public use, is to place the financial losses caused through public improvements on the public rather than entirely upon those who happen to lie in the path of the project. Since the nation is proliferating with everexpanding highways and urban renewal programs, and these programs involve the exercise of the power eminent domain, controversies related to fair value for property taken are numerous. Relatively few cases in modern times reach the Supreme Court, but through previous decisions, affirmed or cited …