Here's a cert petition we've been waiting to drop, in a case we've been following out of Florida.
In Town of Ponce Inlet v. Pacetta, LLC, No. 5D14-4520 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. June 16, 2017), the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a Lucas takings verdict, concluding the case might not even be ripe under the "final decision" prong of Williamson County (the prong not being directly challenged in Knick), and that the owner needed to prove a Penn Central taking, because as a matter of law, the town had not appropriated all economically beneficial use of the land. The court sent the case back down for another view by the trial court about whether the case was ripe, and if it was, for another takings trial.
The case presents quite a developmental horror story (we all have 'em, don't we?). Read the petition for a flavor of what the property owners went through: at first encouraged to develop, but the town changed its tune when a new administration came in. Then what sure looks like attempts to keep the eventual acquisition price down by regulation.
Here are the Questions Presented:
1. Is a regulatory takings claim ripe for review when the local government has made clear how it would apply land use regulations to the property at issue, or must a property owner submit multiple applications even when those applications are not necessary to prove that the local government would reject all economically viable development applications?2. Does government effect a taking when it intentionally devalues private property because it plans to later purchase the property at a discount?
Follow along here, or on the Court's docket.
Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, Pacetta v. Town of Ponce Inlet, No. 17-1698 (June 21, 2018)
