Section 6 Missouri Constitution

• Library: Condemnation Practice 2009

Article I, § 10, of the Missouri Constitution parallels the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution by imposing due-process limitations in favor of anyone deprived of a property right. In addition, article I, § 26, prohibits the taking or damaging of property for public use without just compensation and provides that the compensation to be paid must be determined by a jury or a board of three commissioners and paid before the title can be disturbed. Accordingly, a landowner has a right to “just compensation” against a public body or corporation taking private property for public use. Mo. Const. art. I, § 26; Barr v. Kamo Elec. Corp., 648 S.W.2d 616 (Mo. App. W.D. 1983); McIntosh v. City of Joplin, 486 S.W.2d 287 (Mo. App. S.D. 1972).

An important distinction between the two constitutions is the “damaging” language contained in article I, § 26, which first appeared in the Missouri Constitution in 1875. This language was added to make it clear that something less than an actual physical invasion of property could give rise to the right to receive just compensation. Hamer v. State Highway Comm’n, 304 S.W.2d 869 (Mo. 1957).

The Missouri Constitution also provides that the condemnor can only take private property for public use. Mo. Const. art. I, § 28. This section further provides that the question of whether a contemplated use is “public” is for the courts “without regard to any legislative declaration that the use is public.” Id.; In re Coleman Highlands, 401 S.W.2d 385 (Mo. 1966); State ex rel. Mo. Highway & Transp. Comm’n v. Perigo, 886 S.W.2d 149 (Mo. App. S.D. 1994).

Article I, § 27...