United States v. 50 Acres of Land

The Fifth Amendment requires that the United States pay “just compensation” — normally measured by fair market value1 — whenever it takes private property for public *26use.2 This case involves the condemnation of property owned by a municipality. The question is whether a public condemnee is entitled to compensation measured by the cost of acquiring a substitute facility if it has a duty to replace the condemned facility. We hold that this measure of compensation is not required when the market value of the condemned property is ascertainable.

I

In 1978, as part of a flood control project, the…