Suitum v. TRPA

Suitum v. TRPA (United States Supreme Court 1997)

THE CASE OF THE TRPA’S “TAKING” A WIDOW’S PROPERTY IN VIOLATION OF THE 5TH AMENDMENT

Mr. Cashill filed suit on behalf of Beradine Suitum, an elderly, but tenacious Sacramento widow, to recover damages from the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) on the theory that the Agency had “taken” Mrs. Suitum’s property at Incline Village, NV by imposing a moratorium on building so as to deprive her of an economically beneficial use of that property without compensating her for it in violation of the 5th Amendment to the constitution of the United States. The District court dismissed the case and the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the Dismissal. Aided by the Pacific Legal Foundation, Mr. Cashill pursued a writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. In a unanimous decision (9-0), the Court reversed the Court of Appeals and ordered the case remanded for trial. Upon remand, the TRPA bought Mrs. Suitum’s property and paid her legal fees. During oral argument, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor asked the TRPA’s lawyer “What is so wrong about allowing this lady her day in Court?” The TRPA offered no effective response.