Also known as: nexus · nexuses · nexūs
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A connection between a permit condition demanding dedication of land or payment and a legitimate governmental interest that would justify outright denial of the permit.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Noreen Nguyen seeks a permit to expand her store. The city conditions approval on her dedicating a strip of land for a bike path. The city offers no evidence that the path's size matches the traffic increase from the expansion. The condition fails the required connection test.
Naveen Nanda applies to build a larger home. The county grants the permit only if he conveys a public beach easement across his lot. The easement does not mitigate any specific harm from the home expansion. The condition lacks the necessary link to a permit denial ground.
Neil Nair wants a permit to subdivide land. The city demands a cash payment for park improvements when he refuses to dedicate open space. The payment demand has no demonstrated tie to the subdivision's effects. Refusal to issue the permit triggers scrutiny under the connection standard.
Police obtain a confession from Noah Nakamura without proper warnings. Officers later locate the victim's body through an independent search already underway. The body evidence is admissible because the search path supplies the required connection to lawful discovery.
Nikhil Narayan challenges federal spending on religious schools as a taxpayer. He shows his tax dollars flow directly to the challenged program. The suit proceeds because the financial link satisfies the standing requirement for constitutional claims.
Norton Bank sues Natalie Norris in State A over a contract formed elsewhere. Norris has no office, agents, or transactions in State A. The court dismisses because no connection exists between the claim and any forum activity by Norris.
The government must show an essential connection between the demanded dedication or payment and a legitimate interest that would justify denying the permit outright. The link must address impacts caused by the proposed development itself.
Supporting sources
Yes. The standards governing required connections and rough proportionality extend to permit denials based on rejected monetary conditions as well as physical dedications of property.
Supporting sources
Each plaintiff's claim must arise out of or relate to the defendant's contacts with the forum. Similarity of claims among plaintiffs is insufficient without that claim-specific connection to forum activity.
Supporting sources
…239 U. S. 33 (1915). Indeed, we do not read the appellee's brief as really asserting anything to the contrary. The "logical nexus between the status asserted and the claim sought to be adjudicated," Flast v. Cohen , 392 U. S., at 102, and the necessary degree of contentiousness, Golden v. Zwickler , 394 U. S.…