9.1 Constitutional Provisions

• Library: Eminent Domain Law in Virginia (Virginia CLE) (2017 Ed.)

9.1 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

9.101 In General. The constitutions of both the United States and Virginia acknowledge the power of government to take private property as long as due process is accorded the landowner and just compensation is paid. The Constitution of Virginia requires that just compensation be paid not only where property is "taken," but also where it is "damaged." In this regard, the plain language of the Virginia Constitution can be said to guarantee the landowner more predictable compensation than its federal counterpart when a regulation interferes with only a single land use interest. ¹ However, the Supreme Court of Virginia's interpretation of "damage" under the Virginia Constitution has remained a narrow one. In 1997, the court reaffirmed that "damage" is not damage in the ordinary tort sense, but only that occasioned by the dislocation of a stick in the property owner's bundle of rights. ²

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9.102 United States Constitution. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in pertinent part: "No person shall be . . . deprived of . . . property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation." The Fourteenth Amendment, Section 1, provides in pertinent part: "[N]or shall any State deprive any person of . . . property, without due process of law."

9.103 Virginia Constitution. Article 1, section 11 of the Virginia Constitution provides in pertinent part: "[N]o person shall be deprived of his . . . property without due...