Dec. 31, 2025
There is no COVID exception to the takings clause
Alford and Pena expose a split over emergency takings: One court says the Fifth Amendment always requires compensation, the other leans on history, leaving the Supreme Court to resolve the clash.
Michael M. Berger
Senior Counsel
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
2049 Century Park East
Los Angeles , CA 90067
Phone: (310) 312-4185
Fax: (310) 996-6968
Email: mmberger@manatt.com
USC Law School
Michael M. Berger is senior counsel at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, where his practice focuses on appeals with a particular interest in constitutional land use. He has argued four takings cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
When faced with a challenge that one of their actions has taken property for public use without compensation, many government agencies seek to find exceptions to the plain words of the Fifth Amendment. Some courts are happy to go along. It was refreshing, therefore, to find a recent decision of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that provided the clear words I have used for the headline of this co...
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