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"It's not new law," said Leonard Zax, partner, Latham & Watkins. "The American family is just as safe in their homes as they were in the past 50 years."

Lewis Wiener, attorney, Sutherland Asbill Brennan added that have to "cast this as a backdrop with the Fifth Amendment. It's all about public use. What are the parameters? Is public purpose the same as public use?" He said it's a "clarity call" for the states. "If you don't like what happened, do something about it."

After Kelo, many have taken that advice. Legislation was proposed in as many as 48 states with 16 adopting curbs on the use of eminent domain. Weiner said any "knee-jerk legislation is dangerous.""It's a hot-button political issue," said Jay Kriegel, counselor, Abernathy MacGregor Group. He called legislation on the federal level "ill considered and extreme." Lisa Bova-Hiatt, deputy chief, tax & bankruptcy litigation, New York City Law Department, noted that the city goes through a lengthy process to use eminent domain. "There are layers and layers of review. In Kelo's wake, people are assuming there's no process and we're throwing people out in droves." However, Julia Vitullo-Martin, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said New York has an "ugly legacy of urban renewal" littered with failed projects. "Eminent domain has damaged neighborhoods." Hiatt countered that failed projects don't mean that eminent domain abuse was present. She said the response in the state government has been "almost hysterical." She noted there are 19 bills dealing with the issue currently pending. "Without thoughtful review, there will be unintended consequences."Those potential new restrictions could have an impact on the city's affordable housing stock, said Shaun Donovan, commissioner, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. "It could have a terrible impact on New York. Over the last 10 years, over 14,000 housing units have been created in urban renewal areas. A major concern, he said, is that public/private partnerships, which have been in the forefront of many of these projects, might be limited. "Because of knee-jerk reaction we may need to go back to failed public models instead of partnerships."