Susette Kelo, et al. v. City of New London, Connecticut, et al.

Decided June 23, 2005. John Paul Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 04-108 · 545 U.S. 469 (2005) · Cited 591 times

Holding

The city’s proposed disposition of petitioners’ property qualifies as a “public use” within the meaning of the Takings Clause.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Berman v. Parker · 348 U.S. 26 (1954)
• Hawaii Housing Authority v. Midkiff · 467 U.S. 229 (1984)
• Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council · 505 U.S. 1003 (1992)
• Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co. · 467 U.S. 986 (1984)
• Calder v. Bull · 3 U.S. 386 (1798)
• Lingle v. Chevron U. S. A. Inc. · 544 U.S. 528 (2005)
• National Railroad Passenger Corporation v. Boston & Maine Corp. · 503 U.S. 407 (1992)
• Payton v. New York · 445 U.S. 573 (1980)
• Goldberg v. Kelly · 397 U.S. 254 (1970)
• Lochner v. New York · 198 U.S. 45 (1905)
• Eastern Enterprises v. Apfel · 524 U.S. 498 (1998)
• Brown v. Legal Foundation of Washington · 538 U.S. 216 (2003)
• Rindge Co. v. County of Los Angeles · 262 U.S. 700 (1923)
• United States Ex Rel. Tennessee Valley Authority v. Welch · 327 U.S. 546 (1946)
• Missouri Pacific Railway Co. v. Nebraska · 164 U.S. 403 (1896)
• Cincinnati v. Vester · 281 U.S. 439 (1930)
• Board of Regents of State Colleges v. Roth · 408 U.S. 564 (1972)
• City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center, Inc. · 473 U.S. 432 (1985)
• Shepard v. United States · 544 U.S. 13 (2005)
• Village of Willowbrook v. Olech · 528 U.S. 562 (2000)
• Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co. · 272 U.S. 365 (1926)
• Williamson v. Lee Optical of Oklahoma, Inc. · 348 U.S. 483 (1955)
• Federal Communications Commission v. Beach Communications, Inc. · 508 U.S. 307 (1993)
• Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad v. Chicago · 166 U.S. 226 (1897)
• Armstrong v. United States · 364 U.S. 40 (1960)
• Deck v. Missouri · 544 U.S. 622 (2005)
• McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission · 514 U.S. 334 (1995)
• Myers v. United States · 272 U.S. 52 (1926)
• United States Department of Agriculture v. Moreno · 413 U.S. 528 (1973)
• Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency · 535 U.S. 302 (2002)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Horne v. Department of Agriculture · 576 U.S. 351 (2015)
• Haywood v. Drown · 556 U.S. 729 (2009)
• Vartelas v. Holder · 566 U.S. 257 (2012)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

John Paul Stevens’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2005). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).