Property Owners Lose Takings Claim Over WWII Lithium Production

The current and prior owners of a property used to produce weapons during World War II waited too long to file claims that the federal government’s contamination of the site constitutes a takings, the Court of Federal Claims ruled.

The suit stems from contamination from the Atomic Energy Commission’s production of lithium and munition products decades ago.

Current owner Whiteland Holdings LP and prior owner Frazer/Exton Development LP brought claims under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars the federal government from taking private property without just compensation.

The court rejected the owners’ argument that the six-year window ...