Seattle Eminent Domain Lawyer | Mercer Mess

There is an interesting eminent domain battle going on right now in Seattle, Washington, that I thought I'd take a couple of minutes to let you know about. It concerns the "Mercer Mess," a stretch of road in Seattle at the intersection of Mercer Street and Terry Avenue North. You can kind of see it in the picture below, but throughout the day there is a terrible amount of congestion that occurs on this stretch of road (even if you are walking). Up to this point, several solutions have been proposed, none of which it sounds actually will solve the problem in the end.


It turns out, however, that whatever solution is determined, the building at the corner of Mercer and Terry Ave N will need to be acquired. And the building's owner does not want to go quietly. To combat the city he hired a Seattle eminent domain lawyer to help fight the taking. And once they did a little digging they found out an interesting thing - the funding for the project is set up so that it is both privately and publicly funding, raising a suspicion as to whether or not the particular modification chosen is truly for a public use, or is in reality a plan to get rid of an existing business for the private financial gain of another (developers, from what I understand, would love to get in there and add some new shiny buildings).

If you didn't know, eminent domain is the process by which the government can take private property for public purposes. Eminent domain happens all the time, primarily for roads, power lines, and other public infrastructure. And don't worry, the government has to pay you for what they take (often a point of contention, hence the need for Seattle eminent domain lawyers). Over time, the United States Supreme Court has expanded the definition of public purpose to include almost anything. So the states have restricted what can be taken by eminent domain. And the rules in Washington, and in Seattle, are pretty strict.

So, the business owner challenged the taking as a private one and lost at the trial court. But a funny thing happened when they petitioned the Supreme Court, again on the issue of whether or not a project can be public if it is funded in part by private capital, they decided to hear the case. It seems the Washington State Supreme Court is interested in eminent domain once again. And good for them. It is important that city and state governments be questioned about the actions they take and the motives behind those actions. Whether or not this is a taking for a private activity or not, it's some interesting Seattle eminent domain news, and is certainly worth talking about.

Update: actually I don't have any news on the Mercer Mess, but wanted to let you know there is at least one good Seattle DUI attorney in town. You can find him by following the link.