Public Use, Just Compensation, and Land Reform in Hawaii

The Land Reform Act as amended was a misapplication of eminent domain because it violated both the public use and just compensation clauses of the Fifth Amendment. There was no rational nexus linking eminent domain with the public purpose of reducing the price of land; the high price was due to natural and governmental restrictions on land supply rather than oligopoly. The Act provided for compensation for the condemned leased fee at below market value; compensation was based on controlled lease rents and excluded the reversionary interest in improvements.