Supreme Court Issues Narrow Takings Clause Ruling in DeVillier v. Texas [updated]

In DeVillier v. Texas, the Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling in an important Takings Clause case. Richard DeVillier and other property owners whose land was damaged by flooding caused by actions of state agencies will be able to proceed under a Texas state law cause  of action. But the Court did not resolve the issue of whether the Takings Clause is “self-executing”—allowing property owners whose land has been taken to bring cases in federal court even in the absence of a specific federal statute authorizing it.

The Supreme Court decision does, however, overturn the extremely dubious Fifth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruling dismissing the plaintiffs’ case. At least for the moment, it also negates Texas’ Catch-22 attempt to get rid of the case by removing it to federal court (DeVillier originally filed his claim in state court), and then getting it dismissed on the grounds that there is no federal cause of action available.

Here are some key passages from the unanimous Supreme Court ruling written by Justice Clarence Thomas:

The Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment states: “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” We have explained that “a property owner
acquires an irrevocable right to just compensation immediately upon a taking” “[b]ecause of ‘the…