Overview
Case summary
The claimants sued the United States for the destruction of their land and improvements caused by government-constructed levees on the Mississippi River. The government demurred, arguing the facts did not constitute a 'taking' under the Constitution. The Court of Claims, relying on Pumpelly v. Green Bay Company, held that the allegations of destruction of land value were sufficient to state a cause of action, despite the fact that the flooding was annual rather than continuous. The court distinguished claims for consequential damages (like lost crops or livestock), which it lacked jurisdiction over, from the claim for the destruction of the land itself.
Abstract
Claimants sued the government for destruction of their land and improvements due to government-constructed levees causing annual flooding. The court overruled the government's demurrer, holding that the alleged destruction of land value constituted a taking under the Constitution, sufficient to state a cause of action, while distinguishing it from non-jurisdictional consequential damages like lost crops or livestock. Defendants were granted leave to answer the petition.
Opinion of the court
opinionNott, J.
- Distinguished the present case from Hayward, where the damage was caused by neglect rather than a deliberate public work.
- Applied the rule from Pumpelly v. Green Bay Company that a serious interruption to the use of property is equivalent to a taking.
- Clarified that the court lacks jurisdiction over consequential damages (crops, livestock) but has jurisdiction over the destruction of the land itself.
Procedural posture
Case record
Issues & holdings
De novo (review of sufficiency of pleadings on demurrer)
The court found the allegations in the petition were sufficiently similar to those in Pumpelly v. Green Bay Company to state a valid cause of action for a taking.
Holdings of the court
Timeline
No timeline recorded.
Facts & evidence
Key facts
5 facts- In 1883, the United States, through the Mississippi River Commission, constructed a system of levees to confine river waters.
- The construction caused increased elevation and velocity of the Mississippi River at flood stages.
- The government closed the Atchafalaya River, forcing surplus waters into the Mississippi channel.
- These actions caused annual flooding of the petitioners' lands, destroying crops, livestock, buildings, and fences, and rendering the land unfit for cultivation.
- The petitioners allege the value of the land and improvements destroyed was $60,000.