Kaiser Aetna and the Conservative vs. Progressive Battle of Property Rights
This David and Goliath battle of private property rights pitted the full power of the federal government's Commerce Clause authority, with its doctrine of "navigational servitude," and the "Takings Clause" of the Fifth Amendment against the rights of a property owner to develop Kuapa Pond into a private marina on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The development, which began in the early 1960s, obtained all required permissions from the Corps of Engineers, which allowed access to Maunalua Bay and the Pacific Ocean. However, as federal laws changed in the 1970s to reflect growing concerns over the environment, the Corps filed suit against Kaiser Aetna to require all marina work to stop and to exert its power of navigational servitude, in essence opening up a private marina to public use.
An early property rights case for both Rehnquist and Blackmun, Kaiser Aetna v. United States revealed their divergent views of constitutional protections for property rights and was predictive of future cases. Rehnquist came down firmly on the side of property rights while Blackmun favored government power over land use policies. This chapter examines the reasons behind their worldview differences and provides further proof by briefly reviewing two late cases, Dolan v. City of Tiguard and Lucas v. South Carolina.
This David and Goliath battle of private property rights pitted the full power of the federal government's Commerce Clause authority, with its doctrine of "navigational servitude," and the "Takings Clause" of the Fifth Amendment against the rights of a property owner to develop Kuapa Pond into a private marina on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The development, which began in the early 1960s, obtained all required permissions from the Corps of Engineers, which allowed access to Maunalua Bay and the Pacific Ocean. However, as federal laws changed in the 1970s to reflect growing concerns over the environment, the Corps filed suit against Kaiser Aetna to require all marina work to stop and to exert its power of navigational servitude, in essence opening up a private marina to public use.
An early property rights case for both Rehnquist and Blackmun, Kaiser Aetna v. United States revealed their divergent views of constitutional protections for property rights and was predictive of future cases. Rehnquist came down firmly on the side of property rights while Blackmun favored government power over land use policies. This chapter examines the reasons behind their worldview differences and provides further proof by briefly reviewing two late cases, Dolan v. City of Tiguard and Lucas v. South Carolina.
Chapter Six
Product details
Hardcover
390 pages
Publisher: Lexington Books (December 31, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1498570593
ISBN-13: 978-1498570596
Dimensions: 6 x 9 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.74 pounds