POTTS LAW FIRM FILES INVERSE CONDEMNATION CASE FOR ALL PERSONS AND BUSINESSES IMPACTED
HOUSTON, Sept. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Potts Law Firm, a Houston-based law firm, filed a class action on September 3, 2017, in the Harris County District Court seeking to represent all individuals and businesses recently affected by the Harris County Flood Control District’s and City of Houston’s handling of “controlled release” of water from the county’s Addicks and Barker reservoirs on August 28, 2017. As a result of the release, it is estimated that thousands of homeowners and business owners’ properties were flooded who had previously escaped flooding from Hurricane Harvey itself.
The lawsuit styled Val Anthony Aldred, et.al. v. Harris County Flood Control District, et al., consists of two subclasses for (1) All Texas residential property owners who experienced flood waters at their property on or after Monday, August 28, 2017, in the area immediately north and west of Addicks Reservoir, west and south of the Barker Reservoir, and any residence downstream affected by the rising waters of the Buffalo Bayou as a result of Harris County Flood Control District’s and the City of Houston’s decision to release water from the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs; and (2) All Texas commercial property owners who experienced flood waters at their property on or after Monday, August 28, 2017, in the area immediately north and west of Addicks Reservoir, west and south of the Barker Reservoir, and any property downstream affected by the rising waters of the Buffalo Bayou, Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
Each Plaintiff named in the petition owned property that was not flooding after Hurricane Harvey sat over Harris County on Saturday and Sunday but only began flooding when the Harris County Flood Control District and the City of Houston aided in the release of water from the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs. After the release, each property took on several feet of flood water. The suit seeks damages for the government’s intentional taking of properties by flooding and seeks recovery for the repair costs to such properties, diminution in value of the properties, lost income or business income to the properties’ owners, and any consequential loss of the flooding. Inverse condemnation occurs when the government takes private property but fails to pay the compensation required by Section 17, Article 1 of the Texas Constitution. Similar lawsuits were filed in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and a class action was certified by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
“Our law firm is uniquely qualified to handle such a case due to our already robust Eminent Domain practice,” said Derek H. Potts, National Managing Partner in Houston. “This case is particularly important to us since it directly impacted many people who we personally know.”
Widely recognized for their expertise in complex litigation and trials, Potts Law Firm has obtained record-setting verdicts and settlements on behalf of clients in state and federal courts across the country. The attorneys with Potts Law Firm are dedicated to fighting for the rights of victims of flood and wind catastrophes.