Judge voids Johnston's land seizure, citing lack of eminent-domain authority

In SCLS Realty, LLC v. Town of Johnston, U.S. District Judge Melissa R. DuBose declared the Town of Johnston's acquisition of a 31-acre parcel on George Waterman Road void from the outset, because the municipality lacked the statutory authority to exercise eminent domain in that fashion. The property, held by the Santoro family via SCLS Realty, was intended for a 252-unit affordable-housing development authorized by a 2023 Rhode Island law, which Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. sought to block.

The town fabricated its own condemnation procedure, seized the title, and placed compensation in a state court without informing the owners, a move discovered only through a social-media post. DuBose stressed that a town’s home-rule charter does not grant unrestricted eminent-domain power; the state must expressly delegate such authority and prescribe compensation mechanisms, which Johnston failed to follow. While the ruling stops the seizure, it does not bar future eminent-domain use nor resolve the pretext question, which remains under discovery. Johnston has floated creating a Municipal Public Building Authority, and the owners allege the town violated an injunction in the interim.