Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District

Case Updates

The Court reversed the decision of the Florida Supreme Court holding that the government's demand for property from a land use permit applicant must satisfy the Nolan and Dolan requirements even when it denies the permit.

The U.S. Chamber urged the Supreme Court to overturn a decision by the Florida Supreme Court that held denial of a permit is not a taking under the Constitution. In this case, the Respondent denied a land development permit to Petitioner because the Petitioner did not agree to perform the off-site “mitigation” the Respondent sought in exchange for the permit. The Chamber argued in its amicus brief that the Constitution's Taking Clause applies in this case because the Court has previously held that if government regulation denies all economically beneficial or productive use of private land, it is a per se taking, which requires government compensation. Additionally, the Chamber argued that the burden lies with the government, not the Petitioner, to prove that this is not the type of action that constitutes a taking.