The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case this term that could affect whether states must pay compensation to landowners whose property was damaged by public project execution. Payments also could extend to state owned utilities and others.
At issue is a claim by Texas property owners that the state must pay for flood damage attributed to Texas Dept. of Transportation design of a highway overpass that caused the structure to act as a dam and trap rainwater both from 2017's Hurricane Harvey and 2019's Tropical Storm Imelda—blocking the water from flowing away from their properties.