Too bad you can't get your house back

Time for another legal topic, because I'm sympathizing with the outrage these people must be feeling.

For the non-law students: Kelo v. City of New London was a case about the government's ability (or lack thereof) to seize private property for "public use," and then sell that property to another private party for redevelopment (rather than, for example, redevelopment by the government into a park or some other truly public space). The city of New London, Connecticut, was in a bad financial position, so it took a number of private homes that were on land the city wanted for a redevelopment project. Much of that land was slated for a major Pfizer office complex. The homeowners sued the city, and the case wound its way up to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005. In a 5-4 decision, the Court said that the taking was indeed for a "public" use because there was an economic redevelopment scheme in place. Dissenters made a number of counterarguments, including that the redevelopment scheme had been prepared by unelected officials (who were unaccountable to the voters); that the decision blurred the distinction between public and private uses of property; and similarly that the decision blurred the distinction between "public use" as originally intended by the Founders and "public purpose" as intended by the majority.

That's all by way of background, but keep in mind that it was only 5 years ago that SCOTUS heard arguments and made that decision. Regardless of how you feel about the decision in that case, here is the kicker: the New York Times reported this week that Pfizer has announced it is pulling out of New London, and relocating to facilities in a different Connecticut town.

Again, regardless of how you feel about the outcome of the original case, I can't even imagine how frustrated the Kelos and other former homeowners must be. They were essentially told that their houses were being taken because XYZ Company was coming to town, would bring tax revenue, would bring jobs, etc. Then just a handful of years later, XYZ Company leaves, taking with it any promises of increased tax revenue and jobs.

Maybe the best everyone can hope for is an economic upswing, so some new company will want to move in to all those vacant offices and make good on the promises.