Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council

Petitioner

David H. Lucas

Respondent

South Carolina Coastal Council

Petitioner's Claim

The South Carolina State Beachfront Management Act deprived the petitioner of profitable use of his property by prohibiting construction of new dwellings on his parcels. Thus, it must compensate the petitioner.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

A. Camden Lewis

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

C. C. Harness III

Justices for the Court

Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia (writing for the Court), Clarence Thomas, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Harry A. Blackmun, David H. Souter, John Paul Stevens

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

29 June 1992

Decision

The Court ruled that the petitioner suffered a "taking;" his property was rendered "valueless" by South Carolina statute and he was thus entitled to "just compensation."

Related Cases

• Mugler v. Kansas, 123 U.S. 623 (1887).
• Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922).
• Agins v. City of Tiburon, 447 U.S. 255 (1980).
• First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles, 482 U.S. 304 (1987).

Sources

Jentleson, Bruce W. and Thomas G. Paterson, eds. Encyclopedia of U.S. Foreign Relations. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Further Readings

• FindLaw, Inc. Supreme Court Cases Online. http://laws.findlaw.com
• Hall, Kermit L., ed. The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. Oxford University Press, 1992.
• Northwestern University. Oyez, oyez, oyez-A U.S. Supreme Court Database. http://court.it-services.nwu.edu/oyez/cases