{
  "id": 644895,
  "title": "Atlantic City widow rejected $1 million for her home and won in court",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/12/atlantic-city-widow-rejected-1-million-for-her-home-and-won-in-court",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-12T07:35:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/in-1983-an-atlantic-city-widow-rejected-1-million-for-her-home-in-1994-a-state-agency-offered-251250-and-threatened-eminent-domain-but-she-ultimately-won-in-court/articleshow/133174905.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A New Jersey widow, Vera Coking, famously rejected a $1 million offer from Donald Trump for her Atlantic City home and won a legal battle against eminent domain. For over 30 years, Coking lived in her three-story boarding house on Atlantic Avenue, refusing offers from Trump and other developers. In 1993, Trump sought to purchase neighboring properties for a casino limousine parking lot, and used the New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority (CRDA) to condemn Coking's property using eminent domain. The CRDA offered her a fraction of the property's value, insisting the \"public use\" was a parking lot for a private casino. Coking refused and sought legal help from the Institute for Justice, a public-interest law firm. In 1998, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled against the condemnation, stating it served private interests rather than a legitimate public purpose. After years of legal battle, Coking remained in her home. She later moved to California to be closer to family in 2011, selling her property for $530,000. Her story highlights the importance of property rights and individual freedom in a free society.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}