No eminent domain for Tempe

The East Valley Tribune reports:

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday set back Tempe’s efforts to build a massive shopping center through condemnation.

The high court decided not to consider Tempe’s request to overturn an eminent domain case that stands in the way of Tempe Marketplace.

Several property owners have refused to sell land needed for the project and the city has tried to force them to sell through eminent domain.

Private property advocates said the decision is a big win.

"I’m just thrilled," said Del Sturman, a spokesman for Desert Composites, one of the remaining holdouts. "It’s solidifying that private property rights are still very important. And they’re more important than a shopping center and they’re more important than some one else’s profit motive."

Those kind of quotes will not get you tenure at Harvard.