Real Estate & Property Law

Ninth Circuit To Hear Rent Control Takings Case En Banc

By Robert Thomas (inversecondemnation.com)

This just in: the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will be hearing Guggenheim v. City of Goleta, No. 06-56306 (Sep. 28, 2009) en banc.

The panel opinion in Guggenheim held that the city's mobile home rent control ordinance was a regulatory taking, an issue the court had never considered before:

Daniel Guggenheim and others bring a facial challenge the the City of Goleta's mobile home rent control ordinance. Guggenheim argues that the ordinance, which effects a transfer of nearly 90 percent of the property value from the mobile home park owners to mobile home tenants, constitutes a regulatory taking under Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City, 438 U.S. 104 (1978). We have fielded such challenges before, but have never reached the merits of the takings claim.

Slip op. at 13808-09. What review by the full Ninth Circuit probably portends is that whatever the result of the en banc panel, there will be cert petition filed, and that the case has a decent chance of making its way to the Supreme Court.

Full post as published by inversecondemnation on March 12, 2010 (boomark / email).