Florida Eminent Domain Blog | Gregory W. Stoner

A St. Louis man who had lost 24 buildings to eminent domain and feared he would lose more commissioned a two-story sign to protest the practice. The sign said "End Eminent Domain Abuse" inside a red circle with a slash, and city officials were quick to order him to remove the sign because, according to them, it violated city sign regulations. The man sued to keep the sign, arguing that the sign was a political statement and should be constitutionally protected.

Initially, US District Judge Henry Autrey, appointed by George W. Bush, said the ordinance was "content neutral" and therefore the protest should be removed. However, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in July that the ordinance actually used the content of a display to determine whether it was a sign because religious, fraternal, and civil symbols were exempted from the ordinance. Now Judge Autrey must determine how much of the ordinance must be struck down.

It is worth noting that in Missouri they do not have the same protections against eminent domain abuse that we have in Florida. In Missouri, eminent domain is regularly used to take so-called "blighted" properties from small business owners and middle-class individuals to pass them on to larger development corporations.

In Florida, your property cannot be taken and given to anyone but a governmental agency. If your property is facing condemnation and you think it is not for a valid public use, you can fight the action. To learn more, please contact The Florida Property Rights Law Firm today.