Back in March, I wrote about the City of Baltimore's lawsuit attempting to use eminent domain to take the Preakness Stakes Triple Crown horse race, in order to prevent the owners from moving it to a different location. As explained in the previous post, the case raised several important legal issues. This post is a brief update on developments since then. In mid-June, the City dropped its lawsuit, apparently as part of an agreement with the owners to continue negotiating on possible ways to ensure that the race will stay in its current location in Baltimore, instead of moving elsewhere in Maryland (as the owners previously hoped to do). Later that same month, the owners and the City entered into a "new phase of negotiations" intended to keep the race at the deteriorating Pimlico Race Course, which is badly in need of repair. At least for the moment, the City is no longer trying to condemn either the Pimlico Race Course, or the Preakness Stakes horse race. The legal community may therefore miss out on a case that raises multiple thorny issues, such as whether the intellectual property and trade marks associated with the race are within Baltimore's jurisdiction, and whether condemning a horse race to keep it from moving to a new location violates the Dormant Commerce Clause. Had the lawsuit gone forward, it would have been a virtual full-employment act for eminent domain experts! However, the dismissal of the case of was "without prejudice." That means the city could potential refile it, if negotiations go badly. Moreover, it is hard to say to what extent the threat of condemnation might have been a factor in forcing the owners to reconsider their apparent plan to move. If the business community is left with the impression that the owners gave in under the threat of eminent domain, it could incentivize other enterprises to flee before they suffer the same fate...MORE
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