Overview
- Senior Judge Loren A. Smith of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled this week that the Army Corps’ releases from Addicks and Barker during Hurricane Harvey amounted to a taking of private property in a 12‑property test case.
- The court found the gate openings caused more flooding than if no water had been released and rejected the government’s claim of imminent danger to the dams, citing an engineering report that showed no such threat.
- The case now shifts to determining how much money is owed to 11 homeowners and one business, and the Justice Department has not commented on the ruling.
- Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the test case could support hundreds to thousands of additional downstream claims, with one attorney reporting 502 clients already signed on.
- The ruling follows earlier wins by upstream owners and a 2022 appeals decision that revived the downstream suit, and reporting notes thousands of homes along Buffalo Bayou were flooded and at least two residents died after the gates were opened.