Widow rejected $1M for her home, then fought eminent domain and won

Rep ese tative
image

“I dividual
f eedom
fi ds
ta gible
exp essio
i
p ope ty
ights.”
Those
wo ds,
w itte
by
U.S.
Sup eme
Cou t
Justice
A tho y
Ke edy,
captu e
a
p i ciple
that
lies
at
the
hea t
of
a
f ee
society.
Yet
ac oss
the
cou t y,
that
p i ciple
has
ofte
bee
tested,
sometimes
by
powe ful
develope s,
sometimes
by
gove me t
age cies
eage
to
se ve
p ivate
i te ests
u de
the
guise
of
public
good.Few
sto ies
illust ate
this
te sio
mo e
vividly
tha
that
of
Ve a
Coki g,
a
elde ly
widow
f om
Atla tic
City,
New
Je sey,
whose
modest
boa di g
house
became
the
ce t e
of
a
decades-lo g
legal
battle
i volvi g

Do ald
T ump,
state
co dem atio
powe s
a d
the
limits
of
emi e t
domai ,
acco di g
to
I stitute
of
Justice.A
home
wo th
mo e
tha
mo eyVe a
Coki g
had
lived
i
he
th ee-sto y
boa di g
house
o
Atla tic
Ave ue
fo
mo e
tha
30
yea s.
The
p ope ty
was
ot
g a d,
but
it
was
he s;
a
place
of
stability,
i depe de ce
a d
memo y.
I
the
ea ly
1980s,
as
Do ald
T ump
was
expa di g
his
casi o
empi e
i
Atla tic
City,
he
app oached
Coki g
with
a
offe
to
buy
he
home.
Acco di g
to
late
epo ts,
T ump
offe ed
he
mo e
tha
$1
millio ,
alo g
with
housi g
fo
life,
if
she
would
sell.

Coki g
efused.She
was
ot
i te ested
i
the
mo ey.
She
wa ted
to
stay
i
the
home
she
had
built
a
life
i .
Fo
yea s,
she
tu ed
dow
epeated
offe s
f om
T ump
a d
othe
develope s.
But
the
p essu e
did
ot
stop.The
state
steps
i I
1993,
T ump
sought
to
acqui e
seve al
p ope ties
adjace t
to
his
T ump
Plaza
Hotel
a d
Casi o
to
build
a
limousi e
pa ki g
lot
fo
high- olli g
guests.
Coki g’s
home
stood
i
the
way.
Whe
she
co ti ued
to
efuse
to
sell,
T ump
tu ed
to
a
gove me t
age cy,
the
New
Je sey
Casi o
Rei vestme t
Developme t
Autho ity
(CRDA),
to
i te ve e.The
CRDA
filed
a
lawsuit
to
co dem
Coki g’s
p ope ty
usi g
the
powe
of
emi e t
domai ,
offe i g
he
just
$251,250,
fa
less
tha
T ump’s
ea lie
offe
a d
a
f actio
of
what
the
p ope ty
might
have
bee
wo th
i
a
diffe e t
ma ket.Emi e t
domai
allows
gove me ts
to
take
p ivate
p ope ty
fo
public
use,
p ovided
just
compe satio
is
paid.
But
i
this
case,
the
stated
“public
use”
was
a
pa ki g
lot
fo
a
p ivate
casi o.
Fo
Coki g
a d
he
legal
team,
that
was
a
clea
abuse
of
powe .A
legal
battle
fo
p i ciple

Rep ese tative
image

Coki g
efused
the
offe
a d
fought
back.
With
the
help
of
the
I stitute
fo
Justice,
a
public-i te est
law
fi m
dedicated
to
defe di g
p ope ty
ights
a d
i dividual
libe ty,
she
challe ged
the
co dem atio
i
cou t.The
case
d agged
o
fo
yea s.
Coki g,
the
i
he
70s,
became
a
symbol
of
esista ce,
a
small
homeow e
sta di g
up
to
a
billio ai e
develope
a d
the
machi e y
of
the
state.
He
sto y
d ew
atio al
atte tio ,
aisi g
questio s
about
how
fa
gove me ts
should
go
to
se ve
p ivate
i te ests
u de
the
ba e
of
eco omic
developme t.I
July
1998,
a
New
Je sey
Supe io
Cou t
judge
uled
i
Coki g’s
favou .
The
cou t
fou d
that
the
co dem atio
se ved
p ivate
i te ests,
specifically
T ump’s,
athe
tha
a
legitimate
public
pu pose.
The
judge
oted
that
the e
we e
i sufficie t
assu a ces
that
the
p ope ty
would
actually
be
used
fo
the
stated
pu pose
a d
that
the
CRDA
had
failed
to
demo st ate
a
ge ui e
public
use
fo
the
taki g.Tha ks
to
the
I stitute
fo
Justice’s
advocacy,
Ve a
Coki g
wo
i
cou t
a d
was
able
to
emai
i
he
home
fo
mo e
tha
a
decade
afte
the
uli g.A
folk
he o,
a d
a
fi al
chapte Coki g’s
victo y
made
he
a
folk
he o
i
Atla tic
City
a d
beyo d.
She
had
do e
what
ma y
thought
impossible:
she
had
beate
Do ald
T ump
a d
the
state
i
a
legal
fight
ove
he
home.But
the
sto y
did
ot
e d
the e.
I
2011,
at
the
age
of
86,
Coki g
decided
to
move
to
Califo ia
to
be
close
to
family.
She
put
he
p ope ty
up
fo
auctio .
Biddi g
sta ted
at
$199,000,
eflecti g
Atla tic
City’s
dep essed
eal
estate
ma ket
at
the
time.
The
home
eve tually
sold
fo
$530,000
plus
commissio
to
a
a o ymous
buye .Eve
i
sale,
Coki g’s
legacy
e du ed.
She
had
esisted
decades
of
ove tu es
f om
develope s,
i cludi g
T ump,
who
late
claimed
he
had
offe ed
he
millio s.
She
had
stood
fi m
whe
the
state
t ied
to
take
he
home
fo
a
p ivate
p oject.
A d
she
had
wo .Why
the
case
still
matte sThe
Ve a
Coki g
case
is
mo e
tha
a
local
p ope ty
dispute.
It
emi ds
us
of
the
f agility
of
p ope ty
ights
whe
gove me ts
become
age ts
of
powe ful
p ivate
i te ests.
Supposedly,
emi e t
domai
is
fo
the
public
good,
but
it
ca
be
pe ve ted
to
se ve
p ivate
gai .
Political
a d
eco omic
expedie cy
ca
t ump
co stitutio al
p otectio s.The
t iumph
of
coki g
showed
you
ca
push
back.
It
demo st ated
that
o di a y
people,
a med
with
the
ight
legal
suppo t,
could
sta d
up
to
eve
the
mightiest
of
foes.Today,
Ve a
Coki g’s
sto y
emai s
eleva t
as
the
debate
ove
developme t,
ge t ificatio
a d
gove me t
powe
co ti ues.
This
is
evide ce
that
p ope ty
ights
a e
ot
just
about
la d
a d
buildi gs,
they
a e
about
dig ity,
auto omy
a d
the
ight
to
say
o.I
the
e d,
Coki g
did
ot
just
keep
he
home.
She
defe ded
a
p i ciple.
I
so
doi g,
she
became
a
symbol
of
sta di g
up
fo
i dividual
f eedom
i
the
face
of
ove whelmi g
p essu e.

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