Co-Written By Mr Lawrence R. Liebesman
In a multi-faceted decision with multiple concurring and dissenting opinions,
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 28, 2001, that the government may be
required to compensate landowners for regulatory "takings" that
interfere with their ability to develop their land. Palazzolo v. Rhode Island,
No. 99-2047 2001 WL 721005. The Court’s decision hinged on two key issues: (1)
whether the property owner’s claim was "ripe" for review, and (2)
whether the property owner’s acquisition of title after the date of enactment
of the restrictive environmental regulations had deprived him of the ability to
file a "takings" claim. The Court ruled in the property owner’s
favor on these two issues. Nevertheless, it remanded the case to the Rhode
Island courts because the property owner had not yet established whether it
could develop the "uplands" portion of his property (and therefore
whether it had been denied all "economically beneficial use" of
