By: Chris Neill The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, among
other things, prevents the federal government from taking
private property for public use without just compensation. This
is known as the “takings clause.” In its most basic
construction, this means if the government is going to take your
family farm to build a highway, your property will be appraised
and you will be compensated accordingly. The takings are not
always so cut and dry, though, and the Supreme Court has worked
throughout the nation’s history to flesh out the nuances. In the
1946 case United States v. Causby, the Supreme Court ruled that
even though a farmer’s land was not literally taken from him,
his commercial prospects were severely impacted by a nearby
airfield and he was owed just compensation. In 1978, the Court
set the upper boundary on what the government could do without
triggering a takings clause claim in Penn Central Transport Co.
v. City of New York. New York law designated the Grand Central
Terminal, which was owned by