Constitutional Law
Jul. 30, 2025
Can government rescue property owners from condemnation?
A New Jersey township's effort to seize a 175-year-old family farm for affordable housing has triggered a clash between local obligations under the Mount Laurel doctrine, federal farmland protections, and the Henry family's property rights -- ironically prompting the U.S. government to step in with a Reaganesque "I'm here to help."
Michael M. Berger
Senior Counsel
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
2049 Century Park East
Los Angeles , CA 90067
Phone: (310) 312-4185
Fax: (310) 996-6968
Email: mmberger@manatt.com
USC Law School
Michael M. Berger is senior counsel at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, where he is co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group. He has argued four takings cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ronald Reagan, famously suspicious of offers of governmental assistance, is well known for his comment that the nine most terrifying words in the English language are "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help." I wonder what he would think of events unfolding in New Jersey, where the Township of Cranbury is attempting to condemn the Henry family's 175-year-old farm to make way for 130 affordable housing apartments to meet its state-mandated obligation to provide for such...
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