Law360 Reports on Flight 93 Eminent Domain Case – Gov’t to Pay for Crash Site

Law360 reported in an article titled, “Gov’t Ordered to Pay $1.5M for Flight 93 Crash Site,” that in ruling on Wednesday, March 26, a federal judge decided that the government should pay $1.5 million to acquire the land and the subsurface rights at the Somerset County where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Shareholder James G. McLean was appointed by the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania to serve as Chairman of a three-member Commission to determine the just compensation to be paid to the owner of the land.

“I agree with the commission in this case that the crash of Flight 93 on Sept. 11, 2001, undeniably imbued the subject property with a national significance and intrinsic value that is neither transferable nor comparable to otherwise similar parcels,” said U.S. District Court Judge Donetta Ambrose. “Faced with this unique valuation scenario, the commission fairly and admirably analyzed and weighed the record evidence and correctly applied the relevant law to determine just compensation in this case.” 

Read the full article – “Gov’t Ordered to Pay $1.5M for Flight 93 Crash Site” (Law360, March 28, 2014)