Buckeye Reporter

On January 21, 2025, The Buckeye Institute submitted an amicus brief in the case of Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency. The brief urges the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case and overturn its previous decision in Kelo v. New London. This decision permits the government to transfer private property to a private developer.

David C. Tryon, director of litigation at The Buckeye Institute, stated, “In this case, New York has used the court’s decision in Kelo to allow the redistribution of private property without a second thought of the consequences.” He further emphasized that “this case presents a good opportunity for the court to fix the unjust results of Kelo. It is time for the court to overturn Kelo.”

The Buckeye Institute's brief points out several instances where government authorities have seized private properties and handed them over to developers, often affecting poorer neighborhoods with limited political influence. The organization argues that overturning Kelo would not hinder economic growth and criticizes eminent domain as being frequently used as an inexpensive method to bypass private property rights.

Justice O’Connor had foreseen such outcomes following Kelo, noting that “[n]othing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz–Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.” In Bowers v. Oneida County Industrial Development Agency—a case associated with the Institute for Justice—the government plans to take land from one developer and give it to another for constructing a parking lot.