Back in 2009 we blogged about the California case of Redevelopment Agency of Sand Diego v. Mesdaq, 154 Cal.Rptr.3d 372. There, the trial court awarded $7,785,131.83 for the taking of a lounge, on the agency’s deposit of $3,091,000. The California Court of Appeal reversed (its holding was later overruled, which is another story). What caught our attention was that after the reversal the case settled for $7,800,000, about the same as the reversed verdict. Why? We don’t know. See Jeanette Steele, Deal Reached in Year-Long Eminent Domain Case, San Diego Union, January 17, 2008, at p. A1 – click here.
We now learn from LIBERTY & LAW, April 2012, Vol.21, Issue 2, at pp. 6-7, a publication of the Institute for Justice, that the redevelopment project for which the Mesdaq property was taken (ostensibly for a Marriott hotel), went belly up and the subject property is now a parking lot.
Your tax money at work.