Court of Claims Awards Leaseholder Awards $170M After Inverse Condemnation Trial

A quick hit – 

The United States Court of Federal Claims recently awarded two leaseholders over $170M for the taking of their leasehold interests at Dallas Love Field Airport. A full copy of the long opinion is here.  The nascence of the claim goes all the way back to construction of the Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport and congressional actions thereafter purporting to foster competition (and to end frequent litigation involving Love Field) in what was known as the Wright Amendment to the International Air Competition Act of 1979.  

In short, three years after denying the government’s motion to dismiss, the Court of Claims found that there were both physical and regulatory takings effectuated by the congressional actions and that the United States was liable.  The regulatory takings, which destroyed the value of the leasehold, were valued at $150M, and the physical takings, of airport terminals, were valued at $20M.

There will certainly be several rounds of appeals, and we’ll keep you posted.