The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has issued an opinion in Matsuda v. City and County of Honolulu, No. 06-15337 (Jan 14, 2008), a case involving the city’s repeal of Chapter 38, Honolulu’s version of the “land reform act” at issue in Midkiff, allowing the conversion of condominium leases to fee simple absolute by eminent domain. Leaseholders who were caught mid-process when Chapter 38 was repealed, brought claims under the Due Process and Contracts clauses. The district court dismissed the claims under the reserved powers doctrine, but the Ninth Circuit reversed, and sent the case back for further proceedings. I haven’t had a chance to digest it in full, but will post a complete rundown shortly.
Update: complete summary of the opinion here.