Background
It is far from rare for a local government to build a road across privately owned land and use it for decades without meaningful compensation. Changchun represented many owners of such land in claims against local governments for return of unjust enrichment equal to the use fees accrued.
What Was at Stake
Such suits are not always won. The Supreme Court holds that unjust enrichment cannot be claimed where the owner can be regarded as having provided the land for use as a road themselves, or as having waived exclusive rights of use. The issue was whether our clients could be treated as having waived their rights.
How Changchun Helped
Changchun proved in concrete terms how the land came to be incorporated into the local government's public works, that the previous owners had derived no benefit whatsoever, and that our clients were seeking not the return of the land but simply "proper compensation" — showing that they could not be regarded as having waived their rights.
The court found for our clients and allowed the claims for return of unjust enrichment. The local government then approached them first, offering to purchase the land, and compensation negotiations led to a sale. The case shows that even long-neglected rights can translate into compensation when properly contested. (Outcomes depend on the facts of each case and may differ.)