California First English Evangelical Lutheran Church of Glendale v. County of Los Angeles

The significance of the case is the Court's ruling itself. In a later case, Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council (1992), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a regulatory taking was justifiable if it prevented a nuisance, was not unnecessarily restrictive, and was consistent with a state's common law practices regarding property nuisances. However, the regulatory taking in which Los Angeles County engaged permitted further clarification as to the limitations of such takings. The Court held that even in a nuisance taking, the public had a right to expect that the government did not inflict harm to health, safety, or property. Los Angeles County's ordinance negated the viability of First English Evangelical Lutheran Church property, thus, such loss (to the innocent parties) permitted compensation for damages for the period during which the regulation amounted to a taking of property. Thus, the Court refined its position inLucas, on one hand, reemphasizing that the government is not absolutely limited to interference regarding private property but, conversely, that just compensation must be granted when such interference, in effect, constituted a taking.