Liberty Lost Hotel

Supreme Court Justice David Souter, who voted in favor of the recent eminent domain decision, may soon be on the receiving end of an eminent domain battle of his own.

Logan Darrow Clements, a former developer and CEO of Freestar Media, LLC, sent a fax to the City of Weare, New Hampshire, requesting information on how to make application for an eminent domain seizure of 34 Cilley Hill Road, where Souter has lived since he was 11 years old. The fax was sent to code enforcement officer Chip Meany on June 27th.

In his fax to Meany, Clements wrote, “Although this property is owned by an individual, David H. Souter, a recent Supreme Court decision, Kelo v. City of New London, clears the way for this land to be taken by the government of Weare through eminent domain and given to my LLC for the purposes of building a hotel. The justification for such an eminent domain action is that our hotel will better serve the public interest as it will bring in economic development and higher tax revenue to Weare." He also stated that that the hotel must be built on Souter’s property because of it “being the home of someone largely responsible for destroying property rights for all Americans."

In an interview with World Net Daily, Clements stated that the fax was not a prank, and if he could get three out of five people from the Board of Selectmen to agree to the seizure, he would begin development.

Freestar Media, LLC is an advertising and media company that is developing a television show that will feature “David vs. Goliath” examples of individuals who challenge governments that are out of control. Their website states that they are dedicated to fighting “the most deadly and destructive force on the planet: abusive governments".

Clements admitted to World Net Daily that it may seem a contradiction that he is seeking to oust Souter from his home when he is so strongly opposed to the Kelo vs New London decision that gave local governments sweeping powers to take private property, but he said that he only intends to use it against people who advocated the decision. “It’s a case of retaliation, not initiation”, he stated to World Net Daily.

Clements is currently looking for investors to raise the funds required to develop the architectural plans and to pursue the legal proceedings necessary to take Souter’s home.

During the first week after Clement’s fax to the City of Weare, and the subsequent press release, his organizations received over 6,000 e-mails and calls offering assistance.

A number of states, who already had laws on their books that prevented the abuse of eminent domain, are already beginning new legislation in an attempt to counteract the Supreme Court decision. However, it is not likely that any new legislation would withstand the inevitable lawsuits that would follow; activist courts will simply strike them down.

On the other hand, just as Souter is going to find out for himself, city governments could also find themselves on the receiving end. What if a city owns property that it can’t afford to develop? Would not developers have the right to seize it using this misguided eminent domain decision? What if a state wants to take land from a city, or vice-versa? This could lead to a new gold mine for lawyers who thrive on the endless litigation that is sure to follow.

Until this decision is overturned (and I believe it eventually will be because it is so outrageous), the most susceptible property owners are still the non-profits who pay no property taxes, churches being the most obvious. As I mentioned in last week’s article, churches need to be getting prepared to defend themselves and other churches, because they are just too tempting to city officials who aren’t Christians or who are looking to benefit themselves.

Even if this decision is not overturned, if enough people are willing to do what Clements is doing, perhaps that will be enough to prevent most of the abuse. However, it will take individuals and churches who are willing to pool their resources and go to extremes to fight back to create a natural barrier of fear.

In the meantime, the thought of Souter losing his home to his own poor decision will be entertaining at the very least.