Standing Pat in a Post-Kelo World: Preservation of Broad Eminent Domain Power in Kaur v. New York State Development Corp.

On June 24, 2010, the New York Court of Appeals in Kaur v. New York State Urban Development Corp. upheld a state taking of private property to expand Columbia University’s campus into the Manhattanville neighborhood of New York City. In doing so, the court reaffirmed precedent holding that the determinations of state agencies vested with the condemnation power are entitled to substantial judicial deference. This deferential posture assumed by the Court of Appeals helps preserve a broad power of eminent domain in New York.