Devillier v. Texas Oral Argument

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Devillier v. Texas, concerning whether a party may sue a state directly under the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause. The Texas Department of Transportation raised Interstate 10 and erected a concrete barrier in the median to prevent flooding. The petitioners allege that the barrier in effect acted as a dam, leading to flooding and damage on their properties, and that the state is responsible and should compensate them for those damages under the takings clause. The Texas Office of the Attorney General contends that in order for the petitioners to sue the state, Congress must first pass a statutory “cause of action” that would allow the petitioners to sue. close