Lindquist v. Buckingham Township
Lindquist v. Buckingham Township
Opinion of the Court
OPINION OF THE COURT
This action was brought by James O. Lindquist, Jr., Donald Lindquist, Judith Lindquist and SKSM Associates (collectively, the “Landowners” or “plaintiffs”) against Buckingham Township, its Board of Supervisors, Ernest Knight, II, the Township’s consulting engineer and George M. Bush, Esquire, the Township’s
The plaintiffs’ arguments, drawn from their briefs, may be summarized as follows:
1. The District Court erred in dismissing the Landowners’ due process takings claim as not ripe for review since the landowners failed to avail themselves of the appropriate state law procedures. Even though the Landowners assert a due process takings claim, the District Court improperly applied the ripeness requirements promulgated in Williamson County Reg’l Planning Comm’n v. Hamilton Bank of Johnson City, 473 U.S. 172, 105 S.Ct. 3108, 87 L.Ed.2d 126 (1985), for a “just compensation” takings claim. Williamson’s “exhaustion of state law remedies” requirement is not applicable to due process takings claims. Moreover, Pennsylvania’s condemnation process is not an adequate process for obtaining compensation for a due process taking, and therefore, the Landowners were not required to pursue their claim in state court. City of Monterey v. Del Monte Dunes at Monterey, Ltd., 526 U.S. 687, 699, 119 S.Ct. 1624, 143 L.Ed.2d 882 (1999).
2. The District Court erred in ruling that the Landowners’ claims were barred by the statute of limitations since the Landowners failed to identify one substantive due process violation during the statutory period. The District Court improperly disregarded numerous affirmative acts by the Township which not only constitute substantive due process violations but establish a frequent pattern of unlawful conduct sufficient to invoke the continuing violation doctrine to incorporate the Township’s long standing history of intentionally delaying and frustrating the landowners’ development of the Property.
We find these arguments without merit, hence we affirm. Although the facts and procedural history of this and a prior related case are complicated, we need not prescribe them here; rather, we confine ourselves to a statement of our ratio decidendi.
First, plaintiffs’ substantive due process claims were properly dismissed because plaintiffs failed to file suit before the applicable Pennsylvania two-year statute of limitations expired.
The District Court also was correct in dismissing plaintiffs’ regulatory taking claim because it is not ripe. Plaintiffs had available the inverse condemnation procedures under the Pennsylvania Eminent Domain Code but failed to avail themselves of those procedures. See Williamson, 473 U.S. at 172, and Cowell v. Palmer Township, 263 F.3d 286 (3d Cir. 2001).
The judgment of the District Court will be affirmed.
. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations for personal injury actions is two years, and thus the statute of limitations for a civil rights cause of action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 is also two years. 42 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. § 5524 (1981 & Supp. 1996); Knoll v. Springfield Township School District, 763 F.2d 584, 585 (3d Cir. 1985).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- James O. LINDQUIST, Jr. Donald S. Lindquist Judith A. Lindquist SKSM Associates v. BUCKINGHAM TOWNSHIP Board of Supervisors of Buckingham Township Ernest Knight, II, Individually and in his Respective Official Capacities as Agents of Buckingham Township and the Board of Supervisors of Buckingham Township Lynn Bush, as of the Estate of George M. Bush, Esq.
- Status
- Published