A New (London) Low

We all remember Kelo V New London, in which New London, Connecticut took control of private homes by eminent domain and turned the property over to a private developer. The home owners sued, eventually losing their case in an outrageous Supreme Court ruling.

Now, from the Fairfield County Weekly comes this little tidbit of government thuggery:

New London is claiming that the affected homeowners were living on city land for the duration of the lawsuit and owe back rent. It's a new definition of chutzpah: Confiscate land and charge back rent for the years the owners fought confiscation.

In some cases, their debt could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Moreover, the homeowners are being offered buyouts based on the market rate as it was in 2000.

Via Hit and Run