Wal-Mart Plays Both Sides Of The Eminent Domain Fence

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Washington, D.C., Wednesday, May 24, 2006 – Last night, the Hercules (Calif.) City Council voted to invoke eminent domain to prevent Wal-Mart from building on 17 acres near the city’s waterfront. Wal-Mart representatives have harshly criticized the action. Wal-Mart lobbyist Kevin Loscotoff accused city residents of “playing politics” and Wal-Mart lawyer Edward Burg said it would be “wrong” to use “government’s most awesome power.” Burg also told the Contra Costa Times that “the flag and the Constitution should protect all citizens, corporate or individual, equally.”

But an e-mail exchange obtained by Wal-Mart Watch and reported in the Orlando Sentinel, shows that Wal-Mart is playing both sides of the eminent domain fence by criticizing the practice in California and employing the practice in Florida. The exchange between the developer and local landowners details Wal-Mart’s threat to use eminent domain to seize local homeowners’ land for an 800,000 square-foot distribution center:

Our firm, which is the representative for Wal-Mart on this project, has talked with several local agencies relative to the projected market value for these aforementioned property parcels… In the event any of these property parcel owners are not willing to either sell, or to provide the needed r.o.w. (or) easement, our firm will ask the County to proceed with the necessary legal actions to secure those properties from the property owners to accommodate the public purpose needs to serve the planned project’s utility and road requirements.

Wal-Mart recently mailed a brochure to Hercules residents that threatens a lawsuit and asks “How much will this process cost the city in litigation expenses?” It also tells them “don’t waste your tax dollars and leverage your children’s future over political games.”

Wal-Mart Watch executive director Andrew Grossman today urged Wal-Mart to heed the words of its founder, Sam Walton. Grossman said, “Sam Walton wrote that Wal-Mart should ‘not go where we’re not wanted.’ Walton also said ‘if some community, for whatever reason, doesn’t want us in there, we aren’t interested in going in and creating a fuss.’ We urge Wal-Mart to adopt the principles of Mr. Sam and reconsider their decisions in California and Florida.”

• Click here to read a copy of e-mail exchange.

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