Western Seafood v City of Freeport (TX) to be heard by 5th Circuit Court

The case brought by Western Seafood v the City of Freeport TX is scheduled for oral argument on June 7th at the 5th Circuit Court in new Orleans. This is the first federal appellate case to challenge a private taking since the US Supreme Court's Kelo decision.

The Western Seafood case, which involves the taking of company riverfront land for a marina development, is focused on the "impermissible favoritism to private parties" as described in Kennedy's concurring opinion in Kelo, among other issues. The Institute for Justice and the Pacific Legal Foundation have filed amicus briefs supporting the plaintiffs.

Appellate briefs and other case details are posted at:
www.scandalinfreeport.com. An entry about the case by Professor Ilya Somin of the George Mason Law School is also posted on the Volokh Conspiracy website at:
http://volokh.com/posts/1149183260.shtml.

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Wright Gore, Western Seafood: wright@scandalinfreeport.com