Here's a rundown of the commentary on Bay Point Properties, Inc. v. Mississippi Transportation Commission, No. 16-1077 (cert. petition filed Mar. 3, 2017), a case which seeks review of a decision by the Mississippi Supreme Court. We represent the petitioner.
- Cato Institute Legal Briefs: Bay Point Properties v. Mississippi Transportation Commission: "Unfortunately, governments often do everything they can to get around the Fifth Amendment’s requirements, as the Mississippi Transportation Commission did when it tried to redefine the nature of Bay Point Properties’ land so as to make it effectively valueless for just compensation purposes."
- Pacific Legal Foundation Liberty Blog - State legislatures do not define what constitutes "just compensation": "The Just Compensation Clause protects against this type of abuse, but courts must make sure not to defer to legislature’s calculations of just compensation. Hopefully the Supreme Court will review Bay Point’s case in order to reaffirm that the power of eminent domain is not unlimited, and to ensure the proper constitutional protections for all property owners."
- NFIB blog - The Latest in the Fight Against Eminent Domain Abuse: "Accordingly, we’ve joined in calling upon the U.S. Supreme Court to take this case, to make clear that state government’s may not evade their obligation to pay fair market value. Under no circumstance may a State take property and short-change the owner simply by passing a statute dictating to courts what should be deemed 'just compensation.'"
- Federal Takings blog - "Applied here, the right to trial by jury “means the jury, not the Mississippi legislature or Highway Commission, determines the value of that property Mississippi took from Bay Point. "
Here are all the briefs in the case:
- Bay Point's cert petition
- Brief in Opposition (MTC and Mississippi DOT)
- Bay Point's Reply Brief
- Amicus brief of Pacific Legal Foundation
- Amici Brief of Virginia Institute for Public Policy and Owners' Counsel of America
- Amici Brief of Cato Institute, the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Reason Foundation, Southwest Legal Foundation, NARPO (the National Association of Reversionary Property Owners), the Property Rights Foundation of America, and Professor James Ely (property and easement expert), Shelley Ross Saxer (land use and takings), and Ilya Somin (eminent domain, among other subjects).
