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Bullock had to smile. Von Winkle was the businessman in the group, the numbers guy. He had a way of sizing things up and getting right to the bottom line.

Normally, Bullock explained, chances were slim. But in this instance, he figured, the chances were better than normal because the dissenting judges on the Connecticut Supreme Court had plainly stated that the court had made a decision that went far beyond anywhere it had previously gone. That cried out for judicial review.

Von Winkle was up for another round. What did they have to lose?

The power brokers who had been principals behind the idea to remake the Fort Trumbull area were all fading out of the picture. Claire and Milne were still associated with the NLDC, but only from a distance. Both of them had left New London. Claire was teaching at Yale, and Milne had gone off to be a venture capitalist. And Governor John Rowland and his chief of staff, Peter Ellef, were under investigation for their roles in a corruption scandal, so they had more pressing concerns. Even lobbyist Jay Levin had distanced himself from the NLDC, which he had helped revive.

Only Londregan remained to keep the dream alive. And he had succeeded. After the disappointing split decision at the trial stage, the state’s highest court had made the victory doubly satisfying by taking away the institute’s earlier victory.

Better still, Londregan had been vindicated. The Connecticut Supreme Court had put its stamp of approval on what he had been arguing all along: Economic development was a valid public-use purpose for exercising eminent domain. Cities, especially depressed ones, had to be allowed to take private properties to stimulate private development that would ultimately produce jobs and tax revenue. Tom Londregan could not have been happier with the decision.

He also took personal satisfaction in beating the Institute for Justice. He didn’t like their style. He didn’t like their approach. And he didn’t like their lawyers.

When he found out the institute planned to petition the U.S. Supreme Court, Londregan called Wes Horton again. Horton explained that the institute had about a one in one hundred chance of having its petition granted.

There were other factors that boded well for the city. The U.S. Supreme Court was more inclined to accept appeals when there was a conflict among the lower courts. In other words, if one state Supreme Court had ruled one way and a different state Supreme Court had ruled another way, the U.S. Supreme Court would have a reason to step in and clear up the matter. The Connecticut decision in the Kelo case didn’t seem to conflict with any existing decisions from any other state Supreme Courts. The case that most closely resembled Kelo had been in Michigan many years earlier and the state Supreme Court there had also ruled against the private property owners.

Londregan asked Horton to walk him through the procedures of the U.S. Supreme Court. Horton explained that once the institute filed its petition with the Supreme Court, the city would have to file a brief in opposition. If the Court accepted the institute’s petition, then the city would have to file a second brief on the case and prepare an oral argument.

Londregan asked Horton how much he would charge to write the opposition brief. Horton said he’d do it for $10,000. Londregan explained that the city had very little money. It had already spent a lot more than it wanted to on litigation and other issues stemming from the municipal-development plan. He asked Horton to come down on his price.

Horton had something else in mind. He proposed that the city should pay the full $10,000 for the opposition brief, and if the Court ended up taking the case, he’d do the second brief and the oral argument at no additional charge.

Londregan laughed. “Wes, you’re given’ me nothin’ here,” he said. “The Court only takes 1 percent of the petitions. There’s a 99 percent chance they won’t take the case.”

Horton chuckled. But his price remained firm. The price he had quoted was already well below