Cole v. La Grange
Supreme Court of the United States
Submitted December 8, 1884 Decided January 5, 1885
Full case name	Cole v. City of La Grange
Citations	113 U.S. 1 (more) 5 S. Ct. 416; 28 L. Ed. 896; 1885 U.S. LEXIS 1645
Court membership
Chief Justice Morrison Waite Associate Justices Samuel F. Miller · Stephen J. Field Joseph P. Bradley · John M. Harlan William B. Woods · Stanley Matthews Horace Gray · Samuel Blatchford
Case opinion
Majority	Gray, joined by unanimous

Cole v. City of La Grange, 113 U.S. 1 (1885), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court ruled on eminent domain to benefit a private corporation.

Background

The city of La Grange attempted to use eminent domain to condemn property for the benefit of La Grange Iron and Steel Company to expand that served no public benefit.

Decision

The Court held that the Missouri legislature could not authorize or any other city to issue bonds to assist corporations in their private business. The case was cited in the dissenting opinion of Justice Thomas in Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005).

External links

• Works related to Cole v. City of La Grange at Wikisource
• Text of Cole v. City of La Grange, 113 U.S. 1 (1885) is available from: Google Scholar  Justia  Library of Congress