ELR Citation: 52 ELR 20066
No(s). 21-1131 (Fed. Cir. Jun 2, 2022)

The Federal Circuit reversed a Court of Federal Claims ruling that the U.S. government was not liable for the flooding of homes near two Houston dams managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during Hurricane Harvey. Property owners downstream of the Addicks and Barker 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 claims 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 could not state takings claims against the United States. The appellate court found that Acts of God related, if at all, to whether a taking had occurred, not whether a party had a property interest, and that the owners had alleged cognizable property interests in flowage easements. It reversed and remanded for further proceedings.