The New York Times posts the obituary of Dorothy Miner, a key player in the case that resulted in Penn Central Trans. Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978),the U.S. Supreme Court case that gave us the three-part “ad hoc” regulatory takings test:
She played an important role in the critical 1978 case of PennCentral Transportation Company v. New York City, which upheld thelandmark status of Grand Central Terminal and set national precedents.
Intimatelyfamiliar with preservation law, Ms. Miner was meticulous when makingher case — another way to put it was that she was a fierce, immovablestickler — and could infuriate allies as well as adversaries with herinsistence on principle and procedure.
“We spent eight hoursarguing over every sentence,” Leonard Koerner, the chief assistantcorporation counsel of New York City, said in recalling what it waslike to work with Ms. Miner at the print shop on the legal briefs inthe Penn Central case.
Eventually, the United States Supreme Courtupheld the landmark designation of the terminal against a challenge byPenn Central, which owned the building and asserted that landmarkstatus effectively amounted to an unconstitutional taking of propertyby the government.
Professor Gideon Kanner provides further backstory on the Penn Central case here.