# *Tuck-It-Away, Inc. v. New York State Urban Development Corp.* October 25, 2010 • Legal Briefs By [Ilya Somin](https://www.cato.org/people/ilya-somin) and [Ilya Shapiro](https://www.cato.org/people/ilya-shapiro) [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/Tuck-It-Away.pdf) Learn more about [Cato’s Amicus Briefs Program](/about/cato-amicus-program). Five years ago, in the landmark property rights case of *Kelo v. New London*, the Supreme Court upheld the forced transfer of land from various homeowners by finding that “economic development” qualifies as a public purpose for purposes of satisfying the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. In doing so, however, the Court reaffirmed that the government may not “take property under the mere pretext of a public purpose, when its actual purpose was to bestow a private benefit.” State and federal courts have since applied that pretext standard in widely differing ways while identifying four factors as indicators of pretext: evidence of pretextual intent, benefits that flow predominantly to a private party, haphazard planning, and a readily identifiable beneficiary. Moreover, since *Kelo*, 43 states have passed eminent domain reform laws that constrain or forbid “economic development” condemnations. While many of these laws are strong enough to curtail abuse, in at least 19 states the restrictions are undercut by nearly unlimited definitions of “blight.” The State of New York has seen perhaps the most egregious examples of eminent-domain abuse in the post-*Kelo* era, and now provides the example of Columbia University’s collusion with several government agencies to have large swaths of Manhattan declared blighted and literally pave the way for the university’s expansion project. In this brazen example of eminent-domain abuse, the New York Court of Appeals (the highest state court) reversed a decision of the New York Appellate Division that relied extensively on *Kelo*’s pretext analysis and thus favored the small businessowners challenging the Columbia-driven condemnations. The Court of Appeals failed even to cite *Kelo* and ignored all four pretext considerations, instead defining pretext so narrowly that even the most abusive forms of favoritism will escape judicial scrutiny. Cato joined the Institute for Justice and the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty in a brief supporting the condemnees’ request that the Supreme Court review the case and address the widespread confusion about *Kelo’s* meaning in the context of pretextual takings. Our brief highlights the need for the Court to establish and enforce safeguards to protect citizens from takings effected for private purposes. We argue that this case is an excellent vehicle for the Court to define what qualifies a taking as “pretextual” and consider the weight to be accorded to each of the four criteria developed by the lower and state courts. [![Media Name: Tuck-It-Away.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/serial_cover_phone/public/pubs/covers/Tuck-It-Away.jpg?itok=zrmO7bHs)](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/Tuck-It-Away.pdf) ### Download This Legal Brief ##### *Tuck-It-Away, Inc. v. New York State Urban Development Corp.* [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/Tuck-It-Away.pdf) ##### About the Authors [![ilya-somin-cropped.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2023-04/ilya-somin-cropped.jpg?itok=J1IxBVI7)](/people/ilya-somin) ##### [Ilya Somin](/people/ilya-somin) Professor of Law, George Mason University, and B. Kenneth Simon Chair in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute [ ](https://x.com/ilyasomin) [![Ilya Shapiro](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ilya%20Shapiro.jpg?itok=m1_rdWBG)](/people/ilya-shapiro) ##### [Ilya Shapiro](/people/ilya-shapiro) Former Vice President and Director, Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). [ Download PDF ](https://www.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/Tuck-It-Away.pdf)