Brinkmann’s Hardware loses eminent domain battle in high court

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from Brinkmann’s Hardware, whose Mattituck property was seized by Southold Town by eminent domain, effectively ending any legal options for the family business.

Ben and Hank Brinkmann, owners of a chain of five hardware stores and a paint store on Long Island, asked the high court in June to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which found that Southold did not violate the constitution when it seized the Brinkmanns’ 1.8 acres of private property for a city park. The owners wanted to build a 20,000-square-foot hardware store on the site.

His case was considered three times between late August and mid-October, according to court records, and was finally dismissed on Monday. The filing noted that three justices, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, would have granted the request, leaving the case one vote short of the four needed to secure the court’s review.

“It’s a bit of a punch to be that close,” said Jeffrey Redfern, an attorney with the Virginia-based nonprofit Institute for Justice, which represented the Brinkmanns pro bono in the proceeding.

In the Supreme Court petition, Redfern argued that the city “used every tool at its disposal to evict the family,” including revisions to building plans, “exorbitant” fees and a building moratorium that stifled the his progress in the hardware proposed in Main. Road before turning into eminent domain.

The Brinkmanns argued in the filing that Southold’s plans for a park were “scraped out of thin air” in response to community opposition over traffic and environmental concerns. The petition also alleged that the city did not try to buy the property when it was put up for sale in 2011.

James Catterson of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, the Manhattan firm representing Southold, said Wednesday they were “gratified” by the decision.

“We don’t go after government decisions for public purposes,” Catterson said. “Otherwise, every exercise of eminent domain for an unquestionable public purpose would be stuck in the courts forever.”

In a split 2-1 decision in March, the appeals court justices ruled that when eminent domain is used for a public amenity, including a park, “courts do not inquire into alleged pretexts and motives.”

Only about 150 cases out of more than 7,000 applications are granted each term, according to the Supreme Court’s website.

On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear 40 cases for the 2024-2025 term, according to the law website Oyez, a project run by the Cornell Institute for Legal Information, Justice and the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Hank Brinkmann, 45, said in an interview that the high court’s decision was disappointing, but he’s glad they saw the legal process through to the end.

“When somebody takes something from you and wants to put you off your property, you feel wronged,” he said. “You want to fight for principles.”

He said they are determined to continue growing their business and have not ruled out a location in Southold.

Southold Town Attorney Paul DeChance said Tuesday that this marks the end of a five-year legal battle. There is ongoing litigation in state Supreme Court over attorneys’ fees and compensation for the property, according to court records.

Asked about future plans for a park on the corner lot, DeChance said “the city was waiting for the outcome of this litigation to move forward.”