Washington, DC — The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled the federal government bears responsibility for causing atypical recurrent flooding that damaged farms and property in the Missouri River basin since 2007.
Initially filed in 2014, the plaintiffs in the case include more than 370 landowners from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Seth Wright, the lead counsel for the plaintiffs, says while some landowners were frustrated with how long the case is taking, they were pleased with this latest ruling.
Wright says the primary allegation from the plaintiffs was that the changes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made to the river through the Missouri River Recovery Program (or MRRP) caused flooding along the river, which the court also ruled violated the 5th Amendment.
Wright says it was a massive win for the ruling to favor their cross-appeals, including compensation for crop losses, damages from the 2011 floods, and the value of the permanent flowage easement on the impacted landowners’ properties.
Wright says it’s unclear whether the federal government will choose to appeal the ruling.
Unless appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals has ruled to remand the case back to the trial court.
