ABSTRACT
In Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 US 1003, the Supreme Court considered whether a land-use regulation that eliminated the total value of a parcel of property was a taking that required compensation. In 1986 David Lucas purchased beachfront property in South Carolina for $900,000. Lucas appealed to the US Supreme Court, and in June 1992, in a five-four decision, the Court agreed with Lucas, ordering the state to compensate him for the original value of his property. Under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, the Court ruled, the state would have to compensate Lucas for his land. The Court's decision in Lucas created an entirely new field in Takings Clause law and presented op-portunities for landowners to challenge environmental regulations in court. Prior to Lucas, the state only had to show a substantial interest in regulating property and could eliminate the value of property.
