Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
U

United States v. 50 Acres of Land

469 U.S. 24 (1984)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

United States v. 50 Acres of Land

United States Supreme Court
469 U.S. 24 (1984)

DD

Facts

The United States government (plaintiff) initiated a condemnation proceeding to acquire 50 acres of land owned by the city of Duncanville, Texas (the city) (defendant). The site had been used as a sanitary landfill. In order to replace the condemned landfill, the city acquired another site and developed it into a larger and better facility. The city argued that it was entitled to recover the costs incurred in acquiring the substitute facility. But the United States government contended that just compensation should be determined by the fair market value of the condemned facility. The district court heard expert testimony concerning the sale prices of sanitary-landfill facilities and entered judgment for the fair market value of the condemned facility. The court of appeals reversed, and the United States government appealed to the United States Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Stevens, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Property

Key Terms