Opinion ID: 6330800
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Per Se Physical Taking

Text: Heights alleges the EOs effectuated physical takings because they forced landlords to accept the physical occupation of their property regardless of whether tenants provided compensation. The Walz Defendants contend that no physical taking has occurred because landlords were not deprived of their right to evict a tenant. Rather, they argue, the EOs imposed only a restriction on when a landowner could evict a tenant, making it similar to Yee v. City of Escondido, 503 U.S. 519 (1992) (finding a rent control ordinance was not a physical taking). Since the parties briefed this issue, the Supreme Court decided Cedar Point Nursery, which is instructive in this case. In Cedar Point Nursery, the Supreme Court determined a California regulation requiring agricultural employers to permit “union organizers onto their property for up to three hours per day, 120 days per year” was a per se physical taking under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. 141 S. Ct. at 2069, 2072. The Court explained: “Whenever a regulation results in a physical appropriation of property, a per se taking has occurred.” Id. at 2072. It is immaterial whether the physical invasion is “permanent or temporary,” “intermittent as opposed to continuous,” or whether the government is directly invading the land or allowing a third party to do so. Id. at 2074–76. Cedar Point Nursery controls here and Yee, which the Walz Defendants rely on, is distinguishable. The rent controls in Yee limited the amount of rent that could be charged and neither deprived landlords of their right to evict nor compelled landlords to continue leasing the property past the leases’ termination. 503 U.S. at 527–28. The landlords in Yee sought to exclude future or incoming tenants rather than existing tenants. Id. at 530–31. Here, the EOs forbade the nonrenewal and termination of ongoing leases, even after they had been materially violated, unless the tenants seriously endangered the safety of others or damaged property significantly. See 307, 712, 2103 & 3151 LLC v. City of Minneapolis, 27 F.4th 1377, No. 20-3493, slip op. at  (8th Cir. Mar. 14, 2022) (noting “an ordinance that -17- would require landlords to rent to individuals they would otherwise reject might be a physical-invasion taking”). According to Heights’ complaint, the EOs “turned every lease in Minnesota into an indefinite lease, terminable only at the option of the tenant.” Heights has sufficiently alleged that the Walz Defendants deprived Heights of its right to exclude existing tenants without compensation. The well-pleaded allegations are sufficient to give rise to a plausible per se physical takings claim under Cedar Point Nursery.