Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority v. Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia et al. (464 U.S. 30)

U.S. Supreme Court · decided November 1, 1983 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)

Citation
464 U.S. 30 · 104 S. Ct. 304
Decided
November 1, 1983
Term
October Term 1983
Vote
8–0
Majority author
Justice Rehnquist
Issue area
Economic Activity
Disposition
Reversed
Outcome
Petitioning party won
Ideological direction
Liberal

Opinion excerpt

Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Respondent Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co. of Virginia (C&P) was required to relocate some of its telephone transmission facilities by reason of a street realignment. It sought compensation from petitioner Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority (NRHA), the local government agency responsible for the urban renewal plan which caused the street realignment. C&P claimed that it was a “displaced person” as that term is defined in the Uniform Relocation Act, passed by Congress in 1970. We hold that C&P is not a “displaced person” within the meaning of the Act. The Relocation Act provides that any person “displaced” from his home or place of business by a federal or federally funded project is entitled to relocation benefits, including reimbursement for the “actual reasonable expenses in moving himself, his family, business, farm operation, or other personal property.” 42 U. S. C. § 4622(a)(1). The Act by its terms binds only federal agencies; but a federal agency may not provide funds for state projects involving condemnation without first receiving “satisfactory assurances” that displaced persons will be given such relocation payments and assistance “as are required to be provided by a Federal agency” under the Act. 42 U. S. C. § 4630. In order to qualify for federal funds, therefore, many States, such as Virginia, see…

Excerpt of a 24,739-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.

← Back to the decisions database