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OHIO Supreme Court STRIKES DOWN the taking of private property

in an Area PURPORTED to be “deteriorating”

under Section 19, Article 1 of the ohio constitution

Washington, DC, August 4, 2006

With trends showing an alarming rate of homes and small business property taken by state actors for assorted public or private benefits, on July 26, 2006, the Ohio Supreme Court refused to uphold two such eminent domain actions.

In the historic opinion, Norwood v. Horney, _Ohio St.3d____, 2006-Ohio-3799 --- City of Norwood, Appellee, v. Horney et al., Appellants (Nos. 2005-0227 and 2005-0228) and City of Norwood, Appellee, v. Gamble et al., Appellants, (Nos. 2005-1210 and 2005-1211), Judge O’Connor of the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the two lower court cases holding that “although economic factors may be considered in determining whether private property may be appropriated, the fact that the appropriation would provide an economic benefit to the government and community, standing alone, does not satisfy the public-use requirement of Section 19, Article 1 of the Ohio Constitution.”

The Court in a fifty-eight (58) page opinion went on to apply heightened scrutiny when reviewing statutes that regulate the use of eminent-domain powers; considered the use of ‘deteriorating area’ as a standard for determining whether private property is subject to appropriation void for vagueness and inherently speculative. Furthermore, the Court severed, as unconstitutional, provision R.C. 163.19 from the rest of the statute. This provision prohibited a court from stopping the taking and use of property appropriated by a government after the compensation for the property had been deposited with the court, but prior to appellate review.

“We are thrilled that the Ohio Supreme Court has critically reviewed and decisively rejected provisions of this draconian eminent domain statute,” says Patricia H. Lee, National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship, President. “No-one should lose their home or business because they happen to be located in a ‘deteriorating area.’ This case stops a reverse Robin Hood approach to private property ownership.”

O’Melveny & Myers, L.L.P., Brian P. Brooks, and Garrett W. Wotkyns, urged reversal of the two lower court actions on behalf of amici curiae Ohio Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship.

About the National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship

The National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization which partners with universities, nonprofits, business, community organizations, and individuals to advance entrepreneurship among disadvantaged groups. NIUE was founded in 2003 by attorney Patricia H. Lee, Esq. to be an advocate and catalyst for strategies to create a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation and private sector economic growth in urban communities. More information about NIUE is available at www.ni-ue.org.

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PRESS RELEASE

National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship PRESIDENT Patricia h. Lee presented award by howard university school of business entrepreneurship class

Today, the National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship (“NIUE”) President Patricia H. Lee was presented an award by the Howard University School of Business Entrepreneurship Class for “enhancing the entrepreneurial education of tomorrow’s leaders for America and the global community.” Professor Minnette Bumpus, Ph.D taught the Entrepreneurship Class at the business school, which today featured six business school student teams presenting business plans and feasibility studies for the Howard University Shaw community in Washington, DC.

More information about NIUE is available at www.ni-ue.org. ###

PRESS RELEASE November 9, 2005

National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship JOINS Amici Curiae BRIEF in Ohio Eminent Domain case
The National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship (“NIUE”) joins with the Ohio Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”) today in filing an Amicus Curiae Brief on behalf of the Appellants in City of Norwood v. Joseph E. Horney and Carl E. Gamble, et al., one of the most important eminent domain cases in Ohio since State ex rel. Bruestle v. Rich was decided over 50 years ago.

”The City of Norwood’s rationale for taking private property because a neighborhood might deteriorate into a blighted community is too sweeping of an exercise of eminent domain power,” says Patricia H. Lee, President and General Counsel of the National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship, a frequent lecturer on overcoming legal and regulatory barriers for business survival. “The alarming and disturbing trend of taking private property and giving it to other private parties is profoundly negative and hurts economically disadvantaged and racial and ethic minorities, particularly African Americans,” Lee says.

The National Institute for Urban Entrepreneurship is a nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that develops and implements legal and entrepreneurship programs that support the growth of viable, sustainable businesses by entrepreneurs and is a national catalyst for a culture of entrepreneurship. The Institute was founded in 2003 by Patricia Lee with a goal to reduce the business opportunity gap of African Americans, Latinos and other entrepreneurs of color. More information about NIUE is available at www.ni-ue.org. Counsel for Amici NIUE and NAACP is Browning & Meyer Co., LLP; Of Counsel is O’Melveny & Myers, LLP; Pro Hac Vice is the Institute for Justice and Ohio Counsel for the Appellants is Wood & Lamping, LLP

To see prior NIUE press releases, go to:

http://www.ni-ue.org/Press_Releases/PressR10.07.05.html

http://www.ni-ue.org/Press_Releases/PressR11.12.04.html