Dear John,
I have some exciting news to share: We’re going back to the U.S. Supreme Court! Today, the Court announced that it will hear one of our cases this term—a very important effort to push back on the growing trend of governments taking property without paying just compensation.
They’ll be taking up the case of Richie DeVillier, whose family has lived on their farm in Winnie, Texas, for generations.
In the early 2000s, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) renovated a nearby highway, building an impenetrable concrete barrier in an effort to improve and expand highway lanes. What the TxDOT did not take into account was the devastating impact the barrier would have on surrounding land.
Before the construction, the DeVilliers’ farm had never flooded. Now, every time a major storm hits, the land is inundated. Twice their farm has turned into a lake, destroying crops, damaging the family home, and, worst of all, killing their animals. When the family complained, the state did nothing and refused to pay for the damage caused by its public works project.
The family’s only option was to sue the state. But the Fifth Circuit ruled that property owners whose land is damaged by the state don’t have any remedy under the Constitution whatsoever.
