ELR Citation: 54 ELR 20060
No(s). 22-913 (U.S. Apr 16, 2024)

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that Texas property owners should be permitted to pursue claims under the Takings Clause through an inverse-condemnation cause of action available under Texas law. Over 120 property owners argued that a Texas highway elevation and expansion project, which built a median barrier that subsequently flooded their property during hurricanes and storms, had effected a taking of their property for which the state must pay just compensation. The Fifth Circuit held “that the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause as applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment [did] not provide a right of action for takings claims against a state.” The high court found that Texas state law provided an inverse-condemnation cause of action by which property owners could seek just compensation against the state based on the Texas Constitution and the Takings Clause. It vacated the appellate court ruling and remanded for the property owners to proceed through the cause of action available under Texas law. Thomas, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court.