<em>In re Puget Sound Power and Light Company</em>: Eminent Domain by Corporations Reevaluated

This note examines In re Puget Sound Power and Light Company and the court’s holding that due process requires a private condemnor to prove public use and necessity by a preponderance of the evidence. The note recognizes that the court correctly shifted the burden of proof to the condemnor, but argues that the court could have grounded its decision in the Washington procedural statute governing corporate condemnation and avoided the constitutional question. The note advocates for courts interpreting the statute for corporations to require strict judicial supervision of the eminent domain actions of private entities.