An action by an owner to force a government unit to take property when by its action the government has wrongfully restricted use.
An action for "just compensation "brought by one whose property has been effectively "taken" or substantially interfered with or taken without just compensation.
It is similar to Eminent Domain, however it is when a private party seeks compensation from the government by initiating a court action to purchase their property. Example; when a new noisy freeway has been constructed nearby which makes their home uninhabitable.
Inverse condemnation or regulatory taking are terms used in the law of real property to describe a situation in which the government has so heavily regulated the permissible uses of a specific piece of property as to make it unusable for any reasonable purpose. In the United States, the owner of such property is entitled to compensation for this taking under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, provided that they first exhaust all administrative appeals afforded by the regulating body.