ELR Citation: 50 ELR 20042
No(s). 17-9002 (Fed. Cl. Feb 18, 2020) (Smith, J.)

The Court of Federal Claims held that the U.S. government was not liable for the flooding of homes near two dams managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Houston during Hurricane Harvey. Property owners downstream of the dams argued that the government flooded their lands by opening the dams' gates to prevent additional flooding upstream, and thus caused a Fifth Amendment taking for which compensation was owed. The court found that neither Texas law nor federal law provided the owners with a cognizable property interest in perfect flood control in the face of Harvey, which was an "Act of God", and thus that the owners failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. It therefore granted the government's motion to dismiss.