Reason Foundation

Reason Foundation submitted a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to protect the property rights of the New London, Connecticut, families being evicted from their homes so that developers can build luxury condos, a hotel, and office space. Wilhelmina Dery has lived in her Fort Trumbull home since her birth in 1918. Her family has lived in the neighborhood since 1895, and her son lives next door. In 1997, Susette Kelo, a nurse, bought and restored a home in the same neighborhood. Kelo and the Derys are just a sampling of the middle-class families that New London hopes to displace so that it can collect significantly more tax revenue from newer buildings. Reason's brief, filed on behalf of Kelo and the other homeowners in Kelo v. City of New London, demonstrates that New London's attempt to seize non-blighted property and transfer it to private parties for their own private use is unconstitutional, violating the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which states "private property [shall not] be taken for public use, without just compensation."