Overview
On June 16, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concurred with the lower court and determined that the Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) did effectuate a permanent taking of the farmlands and personal property of Ideker Farms, Inc. and other landowners from six states by intermittent but recurring flooding. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s judgment awarding compensation for the diminished value of the land. The court also reversed and remanded the issues of compensation for lost crops and 2011 flooding to the lower court to determine valuation.
This is a significant victory involving the government’s misuse of power in violation of the Fifth Amendment’s eminent domain provision related to the taking of private property without just compensation.
On November 29, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied the United States petition for an en banc rehearing of its June 16, 2023 decision, thereby allowing the lower court’s determination of the Army Corps of Engineers role and responsibility in taking farmlands and personal property.
Procedural Background & Rulings
The mass action lawsuit was originally filed on March 5, 2014 on behalf of 372 plaintiffs comprised of farmers, landowners and business owners, and alleged that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ actions have violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that bars the Government from taking private property without just compensation. An amended complaint was filed on October 15, 2014.
The mass action has proceeded through two phases:
Phase I
Phase I focused on liability and cause of the flooding and consisted of a trial before the United States Court of Federal Claims, which began in Kansas City, Mo. before moving to Washington, D.C. It involved 44 plaintiff “bellwether” tracts and more than 90 testifying witnesses over the course of the 63-day trial. In total, over 100 depositions were taken and in excess of 20 million documents were produced throughout Phase I.
On March 13, 2018, the trial court ruled that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers bore responsibility for causing recurrent flooding by deprioritizing flood control in 2004 that served to cause or contribute to cause flooding in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2014. As a result, the Corps was responsible for taking, without just compensation, of farms and property in four states along the Missouri River: Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas. The ruling required the government compensate farmers, landowners and business owners for the taken property.
Phase II
Phase II focused on the extent of losses due to the taking. To assess these issues, the trial court selected the properties of three representative plaintiffs out of those who had prevailed in Phase One: the Adkins property, the Ideker Farms property, and the Buffalo Hollow Farms property. The trial court collectively awarded the three representative Plaintiffs approximately $7,000,000 for property value diminution, $1,000,000 for repairing a levee, and prejudgment interest. The Court found that lost crop damages were not recoverable nor were damages attributable to flooding in 2011. Phase Two concluded in 2020.
The Government appealed, and Plaintiffs cross-appealed, rulings from both trial phases.
Case Background
The mass action lawsuit was originally filed on March 5, 2014 on behalf of 372 plaintiffs comprised of farmers, landowners and business owners, and alleged that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ actions have violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment that bars the Government from taking private property without just compensation. An amended complaint was filed on October 15, 2014.
According to the complaint, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ departure from longstanding flood control policies damaged and destroyed farmland and property in the Missouri River Basin, dating back to 2007. The Defendants fundamentally changed Missouri River management policies in 2004, in order to comply with the Endangered Species Act and to protect at-risk or endangered fish and wildlife. These policies were a departure from the longstanding status quo, and the Corps allegedly made public statements acknowledging that the new design would result in frequent overflow of the River and devaluation of the Plaintiffs’ private property. The Corps explained to farmers living along the River that, in order to restore fish and wildlife, “everyone would have to do their part,” and that “[y]our part is to move out of the floodplain and don’t live there.” The lawsuit claims the Corps took the Plaintiffs’ property for a public purpose without any just compensation, violating their Fifth Amendment rights.
The plaintiffs in this litigation are farmers, individuals, and companies who own land, operate farms and other businesses, or reside in the Basin. The plaintiffs are represented by Benjamin D. Brown of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and by Polsinelli PC.
The case name is: Ideker Farms, Inc., et al. v. United States of America, Case No. 1:14-cv-00183-LJB, U.S. Court of Federal Claims.