Eminent Domain Report

In 1831, the colony of Gonzales requested a cannon for defense that was granted by the Mexican authorities. This cannon was a Spanish made bronze six-pounder. The grant had one condition; the cannon had to be returned when asked. By 1835, the political climate had changed in the area and Mexico had asked the Texians to return the cannon. The Texians response: “Come and Take It”. This led to a Mexican military response against the Texians with the colonists producing a flag of a white field with stitching of a black star, a cannon and the words: COME AND TAKE IT. The Texians faced off ...

Dodge, duck, dip, dive and… dodge. An interesting case from the United States Supreme Court yesterday. Interesting because of what it says, and interesting because of what it very explicitly declined to say.

The question presented in DeVillier v. Texas, 601 U.S. ___ (2024) was whether the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment was “self-executing”. That is, whether a landowner could sue a State for money directly under the Takings Clause, even if there is no statute specifically creating a cause of action (and where the closest statute very expressly does not provide a remedy ...