Eminent domain of a contract?

[AZRedhawk44]

http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/07/30/richmond-threatens-eminent-domain-to-address-foreclosure-crisis/

My understanding of Eminent Domain is that it is intended to apply to real estate.  Actual land and buildings.

Not to financial instruments, contracts, investments and such.

If it is found to apply to mortgages, then nothing stops it from being applied to stocks, bonds, aircraft, vehicles, ships, intellectual property, patents and anything else you can dream up.

Very troublesome development.

[HankB]

Back in the '80s, Baltimore considered seizure of the Baltimore Colts football team by eminent domain, and the Maryland legislature was contemplating enabling legislation to let them do that. So early one morning a bunch of moving trucks arrived at the facility, loaded up all the Colts' gear, and a convoy of trucks made its way to Indianapolis.

IIRC, news reports at the time said Baltimore officials found out about it and after some scrambling got a local judge to ORDER them not to move . . . but the convoy had already crossed the state line (beyond a state judge's jurisdiction) and they couldn't find anyone left in Maryland to serve the papers to anyway, so despite much gnashing of teeth, the Colts stayed in Indianapolis.

The point being - misuse of eminent domain to seize things other than real estate is an "iffy" proposition at best. If Richmond starts seizing mortgages or other financial instuments, financial institutions will stop doing business there, and anything remotely at risk will be moved.

[Hawkmoon]

The traditional understanding of eminent domain has been in disarray ever since the Kelo (sp?) decision in Connecticut. That was the case in which the city of New London wanted to take a bunch of properties, not to build any new public infrastructure facility, but to just hand it over to a commercial, for-profit developer to build a commercial, for-profit something or other that the city hoped would ultimately generate more tax revenue than a bunch of [historic] old houses that had seen better days.

Some of the owners of said [historic] old houses fought the good fight, but the city prevailed in the end, and the concept of eminent domain hasn't been the same since.

[Regolith]

Back in the '80s, Baltimore considered seizure of the Baltimore Colts football team by eminent domain, and the Maryland legislature was contemplating enabling legislation to let them do that. So early one morning a bunch of moving trucks arrived at the facility, loaded up all the Colts' gear, and a convoy of trucks made its way to Indianapolis.

IIRC, news reports at the time said Baltimore officials found out about it and after some scrambling got a local judge to ORDER them not to move . . . but the convoy had already crossed the state line (beyond a state judge's jurisdiction) and they couldn't find anyone left in Maryland to serve the papers to anyway, so despite much gnashing of teeth, the Colts stayed in Indianapolis.

Had to look the history behind that up. I don't blame the city of Baltimore for not wanting to buy the Colts a new stadium (I don't think ANY public money should go to fund private sports stadiums, especially for organizations like the NFL that could damn well afford to build their own), but to turn around and try to literally steal the team when they threaten to move is seriously *expletive deleted*ed up.