Lucas v. South Carolina

• Lucas purchased 2 un-developed beachfront parcels of land in South Carolina.
• Lucas wanted to build a single-family house on each parcel.
• Before the construction could commence, the state of South Carolina banned residential development on the parcels.

• Lucas sued the South Carolina Coastal Council.
• Lucas won: the trial court awarded compensation to Lucas.
• Lucas lost in the South Carolina Supreme Court.

When a land-use regulation completely destroys the land's economic value, is it a taking requiring just compensation?

• Lucas argued that the ban on residential development by the beach was a regulatory taking requiring "just compensation."

Antonin Scalia: Yes. A land-use regulation that destroys the land's economic value is a taking...unless the prohibited use could've have enjoined under state nuisance law.

However, when the regulation altogether destroys the property's economic value to its owner, the Penn Central standard doesn't apply. Consequently, these regulations are almost always a taking.

Reversed

Regulatory taking