Can the Government Commandeer My Hotel to Fight COVID-19?

OCA Affiliate member Ivy Cadle of Baker Donelson asks in his recent posting, “With the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, can the government take private hotel rooms to expand the capacity to care for individuals with or exposed to the virus?”

Governmental entities at every level are taking unprecedented steps to fight the COVID-19 pandemic as they work to slow transmission of the virus and to prevent health care facilities from reaching overcapacity. Given that many health care facilities are nearing capacity already, it is easy to envision a world where governmental entities could appropriate private property to help respond to the crisis until the efforts are able to “flatten the curve.”

The federal government has already taken the formal steps to allow the appropriation of private property. When President Trump declared a national emergency under the Stafford Act on March 13, 2020, he authorized the administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to exercise the right of eminent domain to acquire both physical facilities and supplies. Even though FEMA is required to compensate owners, the Stafford Act also allows for an immediate right of possession. Accordingly, FEMA could immediately appropriate buildings, land, food, medicine, testing supplies and medical equipment, parts, fuel, etc. Read more.

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