| Litigants: | Richards v. Washington Terminal Company |
| Decideyear: | 1914 |
| Fullname: | Webster Richards v. Washington Terminal Company |
| Usvol: | 233 |
| Uspage: | 546 |
| Holding: | Any diminution of the value of property not directly invaded nor peculiarly affected, but sharing in the common burden of incidental damages arising from a legalized nuisance, is not a taking. |
| Majority: | Justice Mahlon Pitney |
| Dissent: | Justice Lurton |
| Lawsapplied: | Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution |
| Citation: | Richards v. Washington Terminal Co., 233 U.S. 546 (1914) |
Richards v. Washington Terminal Company, 233 U.S. 546 (1914), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States resolving the question when a government-created nuisance amounted to a taking of property under the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause of the United States Constitution.
In Richards, the Court in a 8-1 decision, held that any diminution of the value of property not directly invaded nor peculiarly affected by a government-created nuisance, but instead sharing in the common burden of incidental damages arising from the legalized nuisance, is not a taking under the U.S. Constitution.[1]
The case involved a landowner who claimed that they were injured from the smoke, dust, cinders, and gases emitted from the defendant's railroad which abutted the landowner's property.[2] The Court found no taking from the injuries that the plaintiff were suffered common to the public. However, because the railroad tunnel adjoining the landowner's property had a fanning system, which directed gases and dust onto the landowner's property, a taking occurred. Due to this holding, Richards is an important case addressing what legal rule should be applied when determining whether a government-created nuisance constitutes a taking under the U.S. Constitution and takings clauses in state constitutions.[3] [4] [5]