If cable company wires are installed on your property, Loretto v. Teleprompter Manhattan CATV Corp. (1982) said that is a regulatory taking under the meaning of the Taking Clause of the US Constitution.

To begin, these are the facts surrounding the Loretto case. Here a New York law was passed to let cable wires be installed on a landlord’s building, Loretto, the petitioner, wasn’t happy, so she took the matter to court because she figured the cable company was trespassing and it amounted to a taking under the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.

Now here’s the issue in Loretto. Given the New York law. was the cable company’s installing wires on the landlord’s property a taking which required compensation according to the Takings Clause?

The Supreme Court ruled this way in the Loretto case. The court said installing cable wires on a landlord’s property amounts to a governmental regulatory taking under the meaning of the Takings Clause within the US Constitution.

Loretto (commonly called the Loretto Test) set the black letter rule for regulatory takings. The Supreme Court made clear any permanent physical occupation on a property amounts to a regulatory taking. This test (which required no balancing) would be the first question asked in regards to regulatory takings.

As well, the Loretto rule would form part of the analysis when it came to regulatory takings. In regards to per say takings, Loretto was the rule. As well, Hadacheck, Penn Coal, Penn Central, Lucas, and the Murr case would add the Loretto rule to their analysis. Loretto started of the regulatory takings cases in property law.

In time, the court would expand the meaning of the regulatory taking. This would include floods and compensation paid under the taking clause by the government. A permanent physical occupation would now extend past installing cable wires and apply to flooding of land by governments.

In conclusion, Loretto is a staple property law case. It provides the basic rule for regulatory takings and compensation paid out under the taking clause of the US Constitution. In time, the Loretto rule would form part of the analysis for future cases which dealt with temporary takings, categorical takings, and balancing tests.