WASHINGTON—The conservative wing of the Supreme Court flexed its muscles last week by overturning a 34-year-old precedent, making it easier for property owners to seek legal redress in federal courts without first having to file suit in state courts after their property is taken.
The landmark ruling, which came June 21 in a case known as Knick v. Township of Scott, Pennsylvania, overturned a decision by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
The Supreme Court’s liberal wing, led by Justice Elena Kagan, filed a fiery dissent, saying the new “opinion smashes a hundred-plus years of legal rulings to smithereens.”