Check out Texas State Library and Archives Comm'n v. Westmoreland, No. 03-22-00276 (Mar. 22, 2024), where the Texas Court of Appeals (Third District) rejected a claims of a putative owner of a letter that the State of Texas asserting that it owns the letter would be a taking.
Westmoreland possesses a historic letter, and offered it to the Commission for sale. Instead of negotiating, the Commission claimed that the letter is a "state record" that had at some point in the past been purloined from the State. We're not going to buy from you what is already ours!
The Commission sued. Westmoreland brought counterclaims, including, inter alia, for a taking because "the Commission has clouded his ownership of the Letter by filing the present lawsuit[.]" Slip op. at 5. The commission's lawsuit challenges Westmoreland's ownership, and does not raise takings concerns:
[T]he Commission, through its lawsuit, seeks a judicial determination of the ownership of the Letter. If the trial court determines the Letter is a state record that was removed without authorization by law, then the Letter is property of the State and no unlawful taking has occurred because the Commission has not “taken, damaged, or destroyed” Westmoreland’s property, but is rather seeking the return of State property. See Tex. Const. art. I, § 17(a). Alternatively, if the trial court determines the Letter is not a state record, then the Letter is Westmoreland’s property and the Commission has no right to the Letter under the record recovery statute. See Tex. Gov’t Code § 441.192(c). Although Westmoreland asserts “independent” counterclaims, the sole issue and dispute between the parties is ownership of the Letter (determined through the Commission’s right of recovery), and therefore there is no basis for Westmoreland to assert a constitutional takings claim.
Slip op. at 8-9.
Seems very similar to this recent decision by the California Supreme Court holding that a court determining the winner in an easement beef isn't a judicial taking.
Texas State Library and Archives Comm'n v. Westmoreland, No. 03-22-00276-CV (Tex. App. Mar. 22, 2024)
