Homeowners seek $500M in damages
Harvey-related case latest in bevy of suits over water releases
A lawsuit filed this week on behalf of 350 Harris County homeowners demands at least $500 million after controlled releases from the Barker and Addicks reservoirs during Hurricane Harvey damaged or destroyed their homes.
The suit, filed Wednesday against the Harris County Flood Control District, is the latest in a bevy of lawsuits regarding the decision to release water from the reservoirs beginning on Aug. 28.
Anthony Buzbee, the attorney for the action filed Monday, said his firm plans to file both state and federal suits on behalf of another 350 plaintiffs next week, in which they will demand another $500 million.
Dozens of similar cases have been brought in federal court against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the wake of the storm and subsequent flooding, prompting the nation’s top claims court judge to consider consolidating some of the actions.
Like others before it, the new suit alleges that the district’s decision to release water from the reservoirs violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment, under which governments must provide “just compensation” for any private property taken for public use.
“When Harvey first hit the Houston area,” the suit alleges, “plaintiffs’ properties did not experience any, or minimal flooding.”
“Unfortunately, on Aug. 28, 2017, in the middle of the night, the Flood Control District decided to release massive amounts of water from (the reservoirs),” the suit continues. “The Flood Control District knew that the plaintiffs’ properties would flood.”
Whether those releases amount to a federal taking of private land remains to be seen. But environmental law and eminent domain experts have previously said that such legal claims could be challenging in court, as plaintiffs would likely need to prove that the Flood Control District intentionally flooded their homes, and its actions both worsened the flooding and were contrary to its operating agreement.
The two reservoirs and the nearby dams that fill them are located about 17 miles west of downtown Houston, and were built in the 1940s to protect downtown Houston after a deadly 1935 flood. The dams hold back floodwaters from Buffalo Bayou and other creeks.