Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council

Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court.

David Lucas paid $975,000 for two residential lots on the South Carolina coast. Two years later, the state enacted the Beachfront Management Act, which prohibited permanent construction on the lots. Lucas was left unable to build anything. He argued that the regulation deprived him of all economically beneficial use of his property, constituting a taking.

Significance

Justice Scalia’s 6-2 opinion held that when a regulation deprives property of all economically beneficial use (a ’total taking’), compensation is required unless the regulation merely restrains what state nuisance or property law already prohibited. The Court recognized that total regulatory takings are ‘categorical’ takings requiring just compensation. However, the Court distinguished this from partial taking cases governed by the Penn Central balancing test. On remand, South Carolina ultimately purchased Lucas’s lots for the original price.

Category

US Federal Case Law