Fight Eminent Domain Abuse

Get Active with the Castle Coalition

On March 2, 2002, IJ launched the Castle Coalition, a nationwide network of community activists dedicated to stopping the spread of eminent domain abuse, the taking of private property for the benefit of another private party rather than a public use. Through the coalition, we aim to raise awareness of this abuse, develop effective ways to fight it in the courts of law as well as the court of public opinion, and inspire more people to get involved.

The Castle Coalition provides an unprecedented opportunity for Human Action Network members to contribute to the fight at all levels. The following are five types of things that you can do to help further the cause:

Send us articles that you read in your local paper about the use of eminent domain for the benefit of a private party. The more information we can collect and chronicle, the better!

Find information about the use of eminent domain in your city or state. Request information, under the freedom of information law, from your city and/or redevelopment agency. We are interested specifically in information pertaining to the legal uses of eminent domain and the appropriate procedure to appeal it.

Research. Get information about a past condemnation project. Find out whether the project was a success. Determine what happened to the families and businesses that were displaced. Pass the information along to us for use in further documentation of eminent domain abuse.

Write a letter to the editor or an op-ed about eminent domain abuse in your city or state. Eminent domain abuse is happening everywhere! If you are looking for a particular situation in your area, just call and we will most likely be able to provide you information about one.

Volunteer to represent someone fighting the condemnation of his or her property for the use of a private party. We are flooded with viable potential cases every day.

To offer help, or to find out more about the Castle Coalition, please contact Steven Anderson, Castle Coalition Coordinator, at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit castlecoalition.org.