690
Syllabus
(4) In actions at law otherwise within the purview of the Seventh Amendment, the issue whether a landowner has been deprived of all economically viable use of his property is for the jury. The issue is predominantly factual, e. g., Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U. S. 393, 413, and in actions at law such issues are in most cases allocated to the jury, see, e. g., Baltimore & Carolina Line, Inc. v. Redman, 295 U. S. 654, 657. Pp. 720-721.
(5) Although the question whether a land-use decision substantially advances legitimate public interests is probably best understood as a mixed question of fact and law, here, the narrow question submitted to the jury was whether, when viewed in light of the context and protracted history of the development application process, the city's decision to reject a particular development plan bore a reasonable relationship to its proffered justifications. This question was essentially fact-bound in nature, and thus was properly submitted to the jury. P. 721. (d) This Seventh Amendment holding is limited in various respects: It does not address the jury's role in an ordinary inverse condemnation suit, or attempt a precise demarcation of the respective provinces of judge and jury in determining whether a zoning decision substantially advances legitimate governmental interests that would extend to other contexts. Del Monte Dunes' argument was not that the city had followed its zoning ordinances and policies but rather that it had not done so. As is often true in § 1983 actions, the disputed questions were whether the government had denied a constitutional right in acting outside the bounds of its authority, and, if so, the extent of any resulting damages. These were questions for the jury. Pp. 721-722.
Justice Kennedy, joined by The Chief Justice, Justice Stevens, and Justice Thomas, concluded in Part IV-A-2 that the city's request to create an exception to the general Seventh Amendment rule governing § 1983 actions for claims alleging violations of the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause must be rejected. Pp. 711-718.
1. This Court has declined in other contexts to classify § 1983 actions based on the nature of the underlying right asserted, and the city provides no persuasive justification for adopting a different rule for Seventh Amendment purposes. P. 711.
2. Even when analyzed not as a § 1983 action simpliciter, but as a § 1983 action seeking redress for an uncompensated taking, Del Monte Dunes' suit remains an action at law. Contrary to the city's submission, a formal condemnation proceeding—as to which the Court has said there is no constitutional jury right, e. g., United States v. Reynolds, 397 U. S. 14, 18—is not the controlling analogy here. That analogy is rendered
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