S.C. Supreme Court clarifies takings law

In Hardin v. SCDOT, the state supreme court considered whether road construction that deprives an owner of convenient access to a main road constitutes a taking for which the plaintiffs were owed compensation. The Supreme Court held that there was no taking. According to the Court, modern takings principles instruct that road closings and realignments which do not "take" land or an easement from a property owner do not give rise to compensable takings because these actions do not directly interfere with an owner’s rights in the property as a whole.