North Carolina town seizes World War II vet's farm to make room for ballooning population.

Matthews, NC - local resident and 87-year old WW2 veteran Neubert Purser, 87, was blindsided by the local government. On the morning of March 5, 2005, Purser opened the local paper to find a 30-day notice from the Town of Matthews condemning his 71-acre farm which he had purchased in 1954. He had already told the town he did not want to sell his property but did not realize that they had the right to seize his property through eminent domain.

The reason for the town's seizure of Purser's land - and quite possibly that of others - is the rapid growth of the population. Matthews has grown from 10,000 residents in 1980 to approximately 30,000 in 2005. In short, because other people started encroaching on his space, the government took it over.

Neubert Purser served on the front line of the Battle of the Bulge in Germany during World War II, and was severely injured when fragments from an exploding shell ripped a 4-by-8 inch gash in his body.

The case was ultimately resolved, sort of, when after a lengthy lawsuit, Purser was offered $4.25 million for the property on which he may live until his death. While this may sound like a lot, the settlement was only reached because Purser had racked up $400,000 in legal fees and the eminent domain clause gave him no leg to stand on.

DAG says: This case is small, however it ought to serve as a warning. The town used its eminent domain clause to secure more public space from a citizen in order to deal with rampant growth. This same legal pathway and justification could be used to seize property when illegal immigrants begin encroaching on towns and cities.