Carlos Pena v. City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, personal injury lawyer represented the Plaintiff on a taking claim.<br>
<br>
When an armed fugitive barricaded himself inside Plaintiff-Appellant Carlos Pena's print shop, officers of the<br>
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) pursued the armed fugitive inside Pena's store and damaged Pena's property.<br>
As Pena acknowledges, the officers acted reasonably and lawfully in all their actions. Pena nevertheless alleges that<br>
the damage caused by the officers constituted a compensable taking under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to<br>
the United States Constitution and that he is entitled to just compensation from Defendant-Appellee the City of Los<br>
Angeles for the destruction of his property.

Judgment in favor of the Defendant.<br>
<br>
The meaning of the Takings Clause at the Founding and two centuries of precedent demonstrate that the government’s destruction of private property when necessary for the defense of public safety is exempt from the scope of the Takings Clause.<br>
Because history and precedent show that Pena’s claim falls outside the scope of the Takings Clause, we affirm the district court’s judgment.