A woman prevails in the 5th Circuit (federal appeals) with an eminent
domain argument that overcame a sovereign immunity defense.

Vicki Baker was moving from McKinney, Texas, to Montana. While she was
away, her daughter was in her Texas home helping her mother prepare it
for sale. A kidnapping/barricade situation developed. The daughter was
able to escape unharmed to call the police.

SWAT showed up. The kidnap victim was released but the perpetrator
barricaded himself inside the home. After 10s of thousands of dollars in
damage, police discovered that the man had taken his own life.

Her insurance made a minimal settlement. She wasn't covered for damage
by government action.

Situations like these in which there is extensive property damage by
police in a barricade or fugitive situation or some other criminal
activity are somewhat common. The property will end up like that Korean
family's convenience store after Robocop effected justice.

Plaintiffs try to sue the municipality but the cases typically do not
survive the motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity.

Baker was represented by a nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice.
They decided NOT to challenge sovereign immunity and thus survived the
motion to dismiss. The case was filed in federal court.

One commentator said he'd never heard of a judge allowing this argument
before.

She was awarded damages and got before a jury. The city appealed; she
prevailed at 5th circuit.

Municipalities around the country are begging McKinney NOT to appeal for
fear this might end up as a nationwide precedent and not just 5th
circuit.

I cannot picture the Roberts court not overturning, though.

The woman points out that McKinney spent a whole lot more on lawyers'
fees than it would have if it had simply made her whole.

WFAA is the ABC affiliate in Dallas.

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/police-did-tens-thousands-dollars-damage-mckinney-womans-house-she-got-them-pay-eminent-domain/287-89f20e5b-84a1-47f0-9251-02eade1f99d3

WFAA had investigated three similar cases in 2020.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/amidst-police-reforms-wfaa-finds-innocent-citizens-not-fully-compensated-for-damage-caused-by-cops/287-3f0fa6b1-113f-42b0-998c-4059c04cd25b

Press release from Institute for Justice
https://ij.org/press-release/after-a-swat-team-destroyed-a-texas-home-it-refused-to-pay-for-the-damage-now-the-homeowner-is-fighting-back/

In article <tvrc32$33lrb$1@dont-email.me>,
"Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:

> A woman prevails in the 5th Circuit (federal appeals) with an eminent
> domain argument that overcame a sovereign immunity defense.
>
> Vicki Baker was moving from McKinney, Texas, to Montana. While she was
> away, her daughter was in her Texas home helping her mother prepare it
> for sale. A kidnapping/barricade situation developed. The daughter was
> able to escape unharmed to call the police.
>
> SWAT showed up. The kidnap victim was released but the perpetrator
> barricaded himself inside the home. After 10s of thousands of dollars in
> damage, police discovered that the man had taken his own life.
>
> Her insurance made a minimal settlement. She wasn't covered for damage
> by government action.
>
> Situations like these in which there is extensive property damage by
> police in a barricade or fugitive situation or some other criminal
> activity are somewhat common. The property will end up like that Korean
> family's convenience store after Robocop effected justice.
>
> Plaintiffs try to sue the municipality but the cases typically do not
> survive the motion to dismiss based on sovereign immunity.
>
> Baker was represented by a nonprofit law firm Institute for Justice.
> They decided NOT to challenge sovereign immunity and thus survived the
> motion to dismiss. The case was filed in federal court.
>
> One commentator said he'd never heard of a judge allowing this argument
> before.
>
> She was awarded damages and got before a jury. The city appealed; she
> prevailed at 5th circuit.
>
> Municipalities around the country are begging McKinney NOT to appeal for
> fear this might end up as a nationwide precedent and not just 5th
> circuit.
>
> I cannot picture the Roberts court not overturning, though.
>
> The woman points out that McKinney spent a whole lot more on lawyers'
> fees than it would have if it had simply made her whole.
>
> WFAA is the ABC affiliate in Dallas.

Good result. If the government damages your property, it should have to
compensate you just like anyone else would.

This whole, "We're special and exempt because we're the government"
bullshit needs to stop.

If they had to pay, maybe they'd think of other alternatives to a
barricaded criminal than driving a bearcat through your living room.