Supreme Court Denies Hearing California Streetcar Takings Case

A California utility lost its bid Monday for the US Supreme Court to hear its claim that it should be compensated for moving equipment from the path of a streetcar project because the request amounted to a governmental taking of property.

The justices’ decision leaves in place a US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling in favor of the Orange County Transportation Authority. The appeals court held that California law doesn’t give the utilities property interests and so they aren’t entitled to money under the Fifth Amendment.

The California Public Utilities Code also points to the Orange County ...