One more in our year-end opinion rush, a short one from the U.S. Court of Appeals of the Eighth Circuit. Here’s what you need to know about Tubbs v. Surface Trans. Bd., No. 14-3898 (8th Cir. Dec. 28, 2015):
Finally, the Tubbses argue that the Board has prevented them from bringing a claim for just compensation under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. In short, the Tubbses claim that the Board has foreclosed their ability to bring a claim based on the Takings Clause of the Constitution and thus affected a taking. We are not persuaded. The loss of a cause of action, which is not a vested interest until it is reduced to a final judgment, is too speculative to constitute a taking. See Jones Truck Lines, Inc. v. Whittier Wood Products Co. (In re Jones Truck Lines, Inc.), 57 F.3d 642, 651 (8th Cir. 1995). Additionally, the Tubbses have not explained how their right to just compensation protects the particular state-law remedies they seek. Nor have they explained why their remaining federal remedies—including their claim that BNSF is liable under the FRSA—are insufficient to protect their constitutional rights.
Slip op. at 6.