In Griggs v. Allegheny County, the U.S Supreme Court ruled on a property taxation dispute in 1961. The case was brought forward by Mrs. Griggs who owned land that had been taken over by the county for airport expansion purposes but was not being used immediately. She argued that her remaining property's value decreased due to its proximity to an airport and thus should be taxed less than before the acquisition of part of her land by Allegheny County for public use. However, she continued to be taxed based on pre-acquisition values which she contested as unfair and unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. The court held in favor of Mrs.Griffs stating that it is unjustifiable for a state or local government entity to tax private property at full market value when it has significantly depreciated due to governmental operations nearby without providing compensation for such depreciation caused.

In the dissenting opinion for Griggs v. Allegheny County, Justice Frankfurter argued that the majority's ruling was a departure from established principles of eminent domain law. He contended that just compensation should be determined by market value at the time of taking and not based on potential future uses or speculative gains. The justice believed this principle to be fundamental in ensuring fairness and preventing unjust enrichment at public expense. Furthermore, he criticized the majority's reliance on 'condemnation blight' as an exception to this rule, arguing it could lead to arbitrary results and open floodgates for claims based on mere speculation about possible zoning changes or other contingencies affecting property value after condemnation but before actual appropriation.