Pacific Legal Foundation: Can states redefine property rights?
Author: Luke A. Wake In December, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Stop The Beach Renourishment, Inc., v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, a case which may have a profound impact on the law of property in the United States. Legal commentators have speculated that the Court may endorse a previously unrecognized takings theory. To date, the Court has endorsed only four takings theories. A taking occurs when: (1) the government physically encroaches upon private property; (2) regulations deny a property owner all economic benefit of a property; (3) regulations deny a property owner reasonable investment backed expectations; or (4) the government attempts to exact property from a landowner in exchange for a land use permit without meeting the nexus and rough proportionality standards set forth in Nollan and Dolan. Still, many property rights advocates believe that a property owner may pursue a takings theory where a judicial decision operates to take away previ
