Justices to hear property rights dispute over family's land


              In this photo taken March 3, 2017, the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court could make it easier for landowners to get paid when government rules make their property less valuable. Justices hear arguments Monday in a dispute over a Wisconsin family’s effort to sell a riverfront plot they say has been stripped of value by conservation rules.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In this photo taken March 3, 2017, the Supreme Court in Washington. The Supreme Court could make it easier for landowners to get paid when government rules make their property less valuable. Justices hear arguments Monday in a dispute over a Wisconsin family’s effort to sell a riverfront plot they say has been stripped of value by conservation rules. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court could make it easier for landowners to get paid when government rules make their property less valuable.

Justices hear arguments Monday in a dispute over a Wisconsin family's effort to sell a riverfront plot. The family says conservation rules barring a sale have stripped the land of value.

County officials nixed the sale because regulations treat the family's two lots as a single property that can't be split up.

The case has garnered attention from property rights and business groups that want government officials to pay when regulations restrict property use. The dispute also has more than a dozen states lining up on opposite sides.

More than 100 cities and counties across the country have similar rules in place.

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