Eminent Domain

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Indiana Land Trust #3082 v. Hammond Redevelopment Commission

Case No.: 24-1006

Officials: St. Eve, Kirsch, and Kolar, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Eminent Domain

The case centers on a property owned by Indiana Land Trust #3082 in Hammond, Indiana, where Omar and Haitham Abuzir operate a profitable fireworks and tobacco business. The City of Hammond aims to use its eminent domain authority to acquire this property for constructing a road that would connect Indianapolis Boulevard and the Water Gardens neighborhood. The Abuzirs assert that the City’s actions are part of a conspiracy driven by political motives and favoritism toward competitors who support the mayor.

Initially, in 2018, the Hammond Redevelopment Commission offered to purchase the property, but the Abuzirs declined the offer. Subsequently, the Commission initiated a condemnation action in Indiana state court under the state’s eminent domain statute. The Abuzirs objected, arguing that the taking served a private purpose and was motivated by animus. Unable to present counterclaims in state court, they filed a federal lawsuit alleging violations of constitutional and federal laws, including claims under the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

The Northern District of Indiana dismissed the Abuzirs’ third amended complaint with prejudice. The court concluded that the City had a legitimate governmental interest in constructing the road and found that the Abuzirs had not sufficiently alleged claims for equal protection, substantive due process, or civil conspiracy. Notably, the court observed that the Abuzirs’ own complaint provided a rational basis for the City’s actions.

The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal. It held that the Abuzirs failed to establish a class-of-one equal protection claim because the City’s actions were rationally based. The appellate court also determined that the proposed substantive due process claim was futile because the Abuzirs did not assert a deprivation of a protected interest. Finally, the court upheld the denial of permission to add a § 1983 conspiracy claim, as the Abuzirs did not establish an underlying constitutional violation.

Affirmed.

Decided 07/10/24

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