Episode description

Welcome to Supreme Court Opinions. In this episode, you’ll hear the Court’s opinion in DeVillier v Texas.

In this case, the court considered this issue: May a party sue a state directly under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment?

The case was decided on April 16, 2024.

The Court did not resolve the question presented because the case’s underlying premise was incorrect; the property owners adversely affected by the flood evacuation barrier constructed by Texas should be permitted on remand to pursue their Takings Clause claims through the cause of action available under Texas law. Justice Clarence Thomas authored the unanimous opinion of the Court.

The Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause guarantees the right to just compensation when the government takes private property for public use, but the Supreme Court has never clearly held that the Takings Clause itself creates a private cause of action for damages.

However, the Court did not need to resolve this question because the case’s underlying premise—that the property owner had no cause of action to seek just compensation—was incorrect. Texas state law provides an inverse-condemnation cause of action that property owners can use to bring takings claims under both the Texas Constitution and the U.S. Constitution’s Takings Clause. The state assured the Court that it would not oppose any attempt by the property owners to amend their complaint to pursue this state-law cause of action. Therefore, since the property owners have an available avenue to seek just compensation, the Court remanded the case to allow them to pursue their Takings Clause claims through the Texas inverse-condemnation cause of action.

The opinion is presented here in its entirety, but with citations omitted. If you appreciate this episode, please subscribe. Thank you.