Missouri Supreme Court OK’s takeover of Missouri dentist’s property

Pacific Legal Foundation says decision puts Missouri homeowners, business owners at risk

JEFFERSON CITY, MO; March 19, 2008:  Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest legal organization, today decried a ruling Tuesday by the Missouri Supreme Court that allows a St. Louis area city to seize a local dentist’s property for a private developer to construct a shopping center.

Pacific Legal Foundation, which represented Arnold dentist Homer Tourkakis, said the decision puts all property owners’ rights in Missouri in jeopardy.

“This decision is a tragedy for all Missourians,” said Timothy Sandefur of Pacific Legal Foundation, the attorney who argued Tourkakis’ case in the Missouri Supreme Court in January.  “The Court has expanded the power of eminent domain far beyond what the legislature intended.”

Dr. Tourkakis argued that a Missouri law called the TIF Act does not give cities like Arnold the power to condemn land for private development the way larger cities like St. Louis can.  “The Court has now given this power to every community in the State,” Sandefur said.

“Every Missourian is now at risk of losing his or her home, business, farm, or church, for the benefit of politically powerful corporations,” Sandefur contended.  “The Court has given an enormous new power to every town, village, and hamlet in the State to seize land for virtually any reason.”

The City condemned Tourkakis’ property as part of its Arnold Commons Development, a multi- million dollar shopping center that will include a Lowe’s hardware store, an Office Depot, and other businesses.  A trial judge declared that the City did not have this power, but the City appealed and the Missouri Supreme Court overruled that decision on Tuesday.

One justice, Richard Teitelman, dissented, agreeing with Dr. Tourkakis that the law did not allow Arnold to condemn property for redevelopment because it is not a “charter city” with special constitutional power.  The Court ordered the condemnation to proceed to trial.

“After the infamous Kelo decision, we had hoped that the Missouri Supreme Court would see the need for a restrained view of the eminent domain power,” Sandefur said.  “Unfortunately the Court has chosen to go even further and grant government even more power to take land for private development.  It’s a shame that the State’s home and business owners are now more at risk then ever before.”

Dr. Tourkakis’ small business has been open since 1988, employing five office assistants, including his wife.  But it overlooks Interstate 55, making it prime real estate for the bureaucrats’ hand-picked developer, so the City declared his tidy, successful business “blighted,” and condemned it.

About Pacific Legal Foundation
Pacific Legal Foundation is the oldest and most successful public interest legal organization that litigates for property rights, limited government, and a balanced approach to environmental protection, in courts across the country.