- Term
- 2023-2024
Devillier v. Texas
In Devillier v. Texas, the Supreme Court considered whether the Fifth Amendment’s bar on taking private property for public use without just compensation is “self-executing,” meaning whether a person can sue even if Congress has not legislated a cause of action for such a suit. In this case, Texas created a median barrier on a highway in response to flooding to protect an emergency evacuation route near Houston. Landowners sued when their adjoining land flooded during a tropical storm and hurricane, claiming this constituted a state “taking” of their land, for which they are entitled to compensation.
On April 16, 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously decided that the landowners in this case should be able to sue the state of Texas under the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause.