In Re Downstream Addicks and Barker (Texas) Flood-Control Reservoirs (No. 1:17-cv-09002)

Beck Redden secured a significant victory for hundreds of Houston-area property owners in the downstream litigation arising from the flooding that resulted when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers opened the floodgates at the Addicks and Barker reservoirs during Hurricane Harvey.  In an opinion issued April 22, 2026, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims held that the government’s actions resulted in a compensable taking of plaintiffs’ properties under the Fifth Amendment.

The case arose after the Army Corps of Engineers, acting under Section 7-05(b) of its Water Control Manual, ordered mandatory releases of impounded water as Harvey stalled over the Houston region in August 2017. The Court concluded that those induced surcharge releases foreseeably and intentionally flooded downstream homes and businesses for weeks, forcing evacuations, causing extensive damage, and materially interfering with the owners’ use and enjoyment of their properties.

After remand from the Federal Circuit (following an appeal that was successfully handled by Beck Redden), the Court of Federal Claims resolved the remaining issues and entered judgment for the plaintiffs on liability. The Court also rejected the government’s necessity, relative benefits, and police-powers defenses, concluding that the Corps invoked Section 7-05(b) before any actual emergency posed imminent danger to the dams’ structural integrity.  The parties will now proceed to establish the damages owed to the property owners.

Working closely with lead trial counsel for the downstream property owners, Richard Mithoff, Rand Nolen, and Jack McGehee, Beck Redden partners Russell Post and Parth Gejji led the legal strategy and authored the legal briefs in this important case.  Beck Redden was proud to stand with the hundreds of Houston-area property owners affected by the flooding throughout this lengthy and hard-fought litigation.