Eminent domain goes bust.

• Author: Root, Damon
• Position: Follow-Up

In 1998 the pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced plans to build a giant new research and development center in New London, Connecticut. As part of the deal, city officials agreed to clear out neighboring property owners via eminent domain, giving a private developer space to build a fancy new hotel, apartment buildings, and office towers to complement the Pfizer facility. Seven years later, in Kelo v. City of New London, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this seizure of private property because it was part of a "comprehensive redevelopment plan" that would provide "appreciable benefits to the community."

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In the November 2005 reason, Tim Cavanaugh interviewed Institute for Justice attorney Scott Bullock, who represented the homeowners before the Court. "The idea that having a plan and going through a planning process protects property owners in any way is completely disconnected from reality," Bullock said. "To think that this provides any protection for property owners who face the loss of their homes and small businesses is nonsense. And it shows how some members of this Court and some defenders of this policy don't understand how these things really pan out in the real world."

Bullock was right. The project that was supposed to entice Pfizer and provide "appreciable benefits to the...