| Court: | US Supreme Court |
| Facts: | HI had a feudal system until relatively recently. There were very few landowners, and lots of tenants. This makes it very hard to become a homeowner. Now there's a plan to condemn parcels of land, and sell them to lessees-- basically compelling owners to sell. |
| Posture: | Not mentioned, but you've got to imagine that someone objected. |
| Issue: | Does the takings clause prohibit the state of HI from transferring real property from owners to lessees, with just compensation, in order to reduce the concentration of fees simple? |
| Holding: | No. |
| Rule: | The taking doesn't have to be for government use-- it just has to be for public use. |
| Reasoning: | This is a one-time thing. It's obvious the market is malfunctioning out there because of the giant estates. Regulating oligopoly is a legitimate state interest. |
| Dicta: | |