U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Case of Texas Farmer Flooded Out by the State
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Richie DeVillier, a Texas farmer seeking compensation from the state after the construction of a concrete barrier along a highway caused several devastating floods on his property. When the DeVilliers sued Texas, an appeals court held that they couldn’t—because Congress has never passed a law allowing citizens to sue states for taking property, the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of “just compensation” was unenforceable. The case presents a simple yet vital question of constitutional law: When the Constitution says government must pay “just compensation” when it takes private property, does it mean what it says?
Three years after it asked the town of North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, for permission to put a piece of property to productive use, the Catherine H. Barber Memorial Shelter finally opened its doors. All it took was tenacity, determination, and an IJ lawsuit to get there. IJ attorneys were on hand to celebrate the grand opening.
Altimont Wilks will be the first to tell you: He used to be a drug dealer. In 2004, he was caught with a gun and drugs. He went to prison. But he came out a changed man. Today, he’s a pillar of his Hagerstown, Maryland, community—not just an exemplar, according to state leaders, but even a member of the Rotary Club alongside the judge who sentenced him. But his small business is struggling, because the government has decided that Altimont will always be the man he was 19 years ago.
Altimont’s case marks a major milestone for IJ: It is the 400th lawsuit we have filed in court. In August, Altimont joined the more than 1,200 courageous clients who have fought alongside IJ since we opened our doors in 1991. Over the past three decades, we’ve helped return more than $21 million in wrongfully forfeited property, saved more than 20,000 homes and businesses from the government’s wrecking ball, and rolled back burdensome regulations in 44 mostly working-class occupation. And we’re growing faster than ever in terms of cases and impact.
Your tax-deductible contribution helps IJ fight for Americans' rights. IJ defends ordinary people who want to pursue their vision of the American Dream but find that the government is standing in their way. We stand with our clients no matter how long their cases take and we win nearly 75% of the time.
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