Supreme Court Rules 9-0 for Texas Landowners Flooded by Highway Project

The 5th Circuit was wrong to find the property owners could not sue, the justices found.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photograph of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, on April 23, 2021. Erin Schaff/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously for Texas property owners flooded by a state highway project in a decision handed down on April 16.

The new 9-0 ruling, the latest pro-property rights decision by the court, will allow the landowners to pursue their claims for compensation in state court under the U.S. Constitution’s Takings Clause. In the ruling, the nation’s highest court rebuffed the conservative-leaning U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit for holding the lawsuits could not proceed.