Because the latest takings cert petition is one of ours (our colleagues Dave Breemer and Deb La Fetra are counsel for the petitioner), we won't be commenting all that much on it.
Except to say that this is the latest in a series of cases where the obligation to provide just compensation for takings butts up against a state government's claim that it cannot be sued in federal court unless it agrees to be sued. We wrote up the Seventh Circuit's opinion below here ("Coming And Going: Eleventh Amendment Trumps Fifth Amendment - States Must Consent To Be Sued In Federal Court, Even For Just Compensation")
Here are the Questions Presented:
1. Whether a state’s constitutional obligation to pay just compensation when taking property waives its sovereign immunity from a claim seeking damages for an unconstitutional taking?2. Whether a property owner may sue state officials in their personal capacity under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for a violation of the Takings Clause, as the First Circuit holds, or whether such a personal capacity suit is barred, as the Seventh and Sixth Circuits hold?
Dust off your Federal Courts hornbooks and follow along here, or check out the Court's docket.
Petition for Writ of Certiorari, Gerlach v. Rokita, No. 24-21 (U.S July 9, 2024)
