Pena v. City of Los Angeles

Filed in November 2025

Owners’ Counsel of America and the Small Property Owners of San Francisco Institute filed an amicus brief supporting rehearing en banc in Pena v. City of Los Angeles, a case arising from the destruction of a Los Angeles print shop during a police operation to apprehend an armed fugitive.

The brief argues that the Ninth Circuit panel erred by focusing on the good faith of the officers and the public-safety necessity of their actions. According to the amici, those considerations do not create an exception to the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause and the government’s obligation to provide just compensation is categorical when private property is taken or destroyed for a public purpose.

Relying on Supreme Court precedents such as Knick v. Township of Scott and Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, the amici argue that the legitimacy of a government action and the obligation to compensate a property owner are separate constitutional questions. Even when government officials act lawfully and in the public interest, the brief asserts, the Constitution may still require compensation for the resulting burden placed on private property owners.

The amicus brief was authored by Michael M. Berger of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP. Read the full brief here.