152 Valparaiso Associates v. City of Cotati

The City of Cotati (defendant) enforced a rent-control ordinance. 152 Valparaiso Associates (plaintiff) made capital improvements to its properties and asked for rent increases to earn a fair return, but the city's rent board denied them. The plaintiff sued, alleging the ordinance effected a taking of its property without just compensation under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The trial court dismissed the complaint, and the plaintiff appealed.

Whether a rent-control scheme that deprives a landlord of a fair return on its investment is unconstitutional.