Chief Justice John Roberts dealt a blow on Tuesday to the latest quixotic and expensive legal challenge of N.J. Attorney General Gurbir Grewal.
In a 5-4 opinion authored by Roberts, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that the developer of the natural gas PennEast pipeline – long a political football in state politics – could invoke federal eminent domain authority to seize state land necessary to complete the project.
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“By its terms, §717f(h) authorizes FERC certificate holders to condemn all necessary rightsof-way, whether owned by private parties or States,” explained the Chief Justice. “Such Opinion of the Court condemnation actions do not offend state sovereignty, because the States consented at the founding to the exerciseof the federal eminent domain power, whether by public officials or private delegatees.”
The decision cut across ideological lines with Justices Barrett, Thomas, Kagan, and Gorsuch dissenting.
“This Court has long held that States did not surrender their sovereign immunity to suits authorized pursuant to Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce, and no historical evidence suggests a different result obtains for condemnation suits brought by private parties against nonconsenting States,” wrote Barrett.
Click here to view the full opinion.
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