Abuse of easement rights can be, in some ways, worse than eminent domain condemnations for private party benefit. With eminent domain, a local government takes away private property for public benefit, and compensates the property owner for the loss. Typically, governments do this when expanding public benefits, such as roads, that are paid for by public money.
This issue was in the national news not long ago. Some local governments started using eminent domain to benefit private interests. The argument was made that economic redevelopment may potentially generate more tax revenue, and that that alone was sufficient to condemn current use of private property.
Initially, disagreements over eminent domain resulted when a for-profit developer wanted to acquire an assemblage of small residential parcels. Some property owners were willing to sell, some were not, and some recognized that free market principles made their parcel more valuable than it would be without assemblage.
The developer convinced the local government to condemn the desired properties, not only forcing sale upon those not willing to sell, but also driving down the price of those rightfully asking more than their property would be worth without assemblage. Opposing arguments went through the courts and decisions favored private moneyed interests over individual property rights. There was considerable public outcry at these decisions.
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