United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 23-1678 PAMELA J. ANTOSH and NED E. LASHLEY, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. VILLAGE OF MOUNT PLEASANT, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. No. 2:22-cv-00117-BHL — Brett H. Ludwig, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED JANUARY 8, 2024 — DECIDED APRIL 25, 2024 ____________________

Before WOOD, SCUDDER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges. WOOD, Circuit Judge. Before us is another chapter in Pam- ela Antosh and Ned Lashley’s litigation challenging the Vil- lage of Mount Pleasant’s use of its eminent-domain power to acquire their property. They first filed suit in state court in 2019, soon after the Village condemned their property for road improvements associated with the private Foxconn de- velopment. In state court, Antosh and Lashley opted to con- test only the amount of compensation they were owed, not 2 No. 23-1678 the propriety of the taking. But when the state court ruled against them on an evidentiary issue two years into litigation, they decided to try their luck in federal court. In their federal complaint, they alleged for the first time that the taking was improper because it served a private purpose, not a public one. The district court saw this federal suit as a strategic effort to circumvent an unfavorable state-court ruling without tak- ing the necessary steps to appeal. Accordingly, it dismissed the action without prejudice, citing Colorado River Water Con- servation District v. United States, 424 U.S. 800 (1976). Antosh and Lashley now appeal that judgment. We conclude that the district court was right to refrain from exercising jurisdiction over their federal claims, and so we affirm. I The Village of Mount Pleasant gained national notoriety as an economic hub in late 2017, when Taiwanese electronics company Foxconn announced a plan to open its first major American factory there. The Village lured the manufacturing giant to the area in part by promising to acquire more than 2,800 acres of privately owned land for the new development. In September 2017, the state of Wisconsin helped the Village live up to its word: the legislature authorized the creation of Tax Incremental Financing District Number 5 (“TIF No. 5”), allowing the Village to finance expenses associated with the Foxconn development. Consistent with TIF requirements un- der state law, the Village rezoned properties within TIF No. 5 from “agricultural” to “business park.” See Wis. Stat. § 66.1105. No. 23-1678 3

The Village also needed to make substantial improve- ments to the transportation infrastructure in the area to facil- itate public access to the Foxconn development. One of these efforts included expanding and improving both County Highway KR and 90th Street. To do that, the Village deter- mined that it was necessary to re-route 90th Street through part of a three-acre parcel owned by Antosh and Lashley. The parcel was located within TIF No. 5 on the corner of the two roads. In 2019, the Village followed the steps required under state law to condemn a large portion of Antosh and Lashley’s prop- erty. See Wis. Stat. § 32.05. On June 3, 2019, the Village sent Antosh and Lashley an appraisal letter explaining that the “proposed municipal improvement project” would involve the improvement of various roadways “to allow for the con- struction of an industrial development that is commonly known as the Foxconn development.” The Village later filed a relocation order stating that the condemnat