Opinion · Supreme Court of the United States

United States v. Petty Motor Co.

327 U.S. 372

Type
Opinion
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Jurisdiction
Federal
Date
1946-03-25
Topic
general

How later courts describe this case

  • holding that plaintiff was entitled to just compensation for government's taking of option to renew a lease
  • holding that plaintiff was entitled to compensation for government’s taking of option to renew a lease
  • concluding that "evidence of loss of profits, damage to good will, the expense of relocation and other such consequential losses are refused in federal condemnation proceedings"
  • holding that plaintiff was entitled to compensation for government’s takings of option to renew a lease
  • holding that plaintiff was entitled to compensation for government’s takings of an option to renew a lease
  • holding that a tenant had waived its takings claim because its lease agreement included a clause that terminated the lease if the government exercised eminent domain over the leased property
  • finding that the plaintiffs had a protected property interest in their oral month-to-month leases under Utah law
  • noting that use and possession can be two separate property rights

Citator

UpLaw has not yet analyzed United States v. Petty Motor Co.. The absence of a flag is not a finding that it is good law.

Authority status
pending
Cited by
433 opinions

Headnotes

  1. Real Property Law — Temporary Taking of Leaseholds Where the United States takes a temporary interest in property for a term ending on a fixed date but reserves the right to surrender earlier at its own election, the taking is deemed a taking for the full term, since the term's shortening rests wholly at the election of the government. 327 U.S. at 374
  2. Real Property Law — Compensation for Leasehold Interests The measure of damages for the taking of a tenant's leasehold is the market value of the use and occupancy of the leasehold for the remainder of the tenant's term, less the rent the tenant agreed to pay for that use and occupancy. 327 U.S. at 381
  3. Real Property Law — Eminent Domain Where a lease contains a clause providing for automatic termination upon a governmental taking of the property for public use, the tenant retains no right that survives the taking and is entitled to no compensation; condemnation proceedings are in rem and compensate only the value of the rights actually taken. 327 U.S. at 375-376
  4. Real Property Law — Elements of Just Compensation Just compensation is the value of the interest taken, measured by market value rather than value to the owner for his particular purposes or to the condemner for a special use; consequential losses such as lost profits, damage to good will, and relocation expenses are not recoverable in federal condemnation proceedings. 327 U.S. at 377
  5. Real Property Law — Costs of Removal and Relocation A tenant whose entire leasehold interest is taken is not entitled to have the costs of moving and relocating its business considered as elements of the value of that interest; such costs are personal to the tenant and apart from the value of the thing taken, and the difference in treatment between partial and complete takings of a lease turns on the lessee's continuing obligation to return to the leasehold for the portion of the term not taken. 327 U.S. at 377-379
  6. Real Property Law — Tenancies at Will For a tenant at will, the remainder of the term for which compensation may be awarded depends upon state law governing the notice required to terminate such tenancies; a tenant whose notice to vacate exceeds the state statutory requirement is entitled to no compensation. 327 U.S. at 380
  7. Real Property Law — Leases Where a lease contains a right of renewal for an additional year, the value of that renewal right, if it continues under state law, must be added to the value of the unexpired term of the lease in computing just compensation. 327 U.S. at 380-381