Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City

Supreme Court of the United States
438 US 104, 98 S.Ct. 2646 (1992)

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment is designed to bar the government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which, in all fairness and justice, should be borne by the public as a whole.

A taking may more readily be found when the interference with property can be characterized as a physical invasion by the government, than when the interference arises from some public program adjusting the benefits and burdens of economic life.

A use restriction on real property may constitute a taking if it has an unduly harsh impact on the owner’s use of the property.

Takings jurisprudence does not divide a single parcel into discrete segments. In deciding whether a particular governmental action has effected a taking, courts focus both on the character of the action and on the nature and extent of the interference with rights on the parcel as a whole.

Among the important factors to consider for regulatory takings are: The economic impact of the regulation; the extent to which the regulation has interfered with investment-backed expectations, and character of the government regulation.

Full Text of Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City