Opinion ID: 1100512
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Expropriation[15]

Text: The City contends that the court of appeal erred in reversing the trial court's grant of summary judgment in the City's favor on the plaintiff's expropriation claim. In this claim, the plaintiff alleges that a drainage bin was placed on his property, three feet beyond the boundaries of the twenty-foot servitude. [16] Placement of the bin in this manner constituted an improper taking of his property, the plaintiff claims, as the City should have obtained a permit or right-of-way agreement to conduct operations outside of the servitude. The plaintiff also claims that he continues to lose topsoil from his yard because of the construction project. [17] Article 1, section 4(B) of the Louisiana Constitution provides authority for the bringing of an inverse condemnation claim: Property shall not be taken or damaged by the state or its political subdivisions except for public purposes and with just compensation paid to the owner or into the court for his benefit. La. Const. art. I, § 4(B); Howard v. Parish of Jefferson, 03-482 (La.App. 5 Cir. 9/30/03), 857 So.2d 1203, 1206, writ denied, 2003-2999 (La.1/30/04), 865 So.2d 77. To establish inverse condemnation, a party must show that (1) a recognized species of property right has been affected; (2) the property has been taken or damaged in a constitutional sense; and (3) the taking or damaging was for a public purpose under La. Const. art. I, § 4. Avenal v. State, XXXX-XXXX (La.10/19/04), 886 So.2d 1085, 1105 (citing State Through Dep't of Transp. & Dev. v. Chambers Inv. Co., 595 So.2d 598, 603 (La.1992)). The City argues before this court that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law, because Suire cannot establish that a taking occurred in this case based on his allegations of placement of a drainage bin outside of the City's servitude and continuing topsoil loss. Suire relies on Simmons v. Board of Commissioners, 624 So.2d 935 (La.App. 2 Cir.1993) to support his contention that a cognizable taking of his property occurred in this case. In Simmons, the plaintiffs, owners of residential lots in Bossier City, sued several defendants, including the State and the Board of Commissioners of the Bossier Levee District, alleging that the dredging of a drainage canal behind their lots resulted in a taking of their property. Id. at 938. The plaintiffs claimed that, soon after the dredging was completed, the banks of the newly dredged canal developed crevices and dropped off in large sections into the canal. Id. This process continued intermittently for more than six years after the dredging ended, the Simmons plaintiffs asserted. Id. In addition, each plaintiff estimated a loss of around 25-150 trees from the rear of his or her lot due to the bank failures. Id. at 943. The trial court found that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a taking, and awarded damages accordingly. Id. at 949. Considering the issue of whether a taking of the plaintiffs' property had occurred, the court of appeal reasoned that a taking occurs where there is a substantial interference with the free use and enjoyment of property. Id. at 951. It is not necessary to show an actual divestiture of title, the court explained, so long as substantial interference is established. Id. The Simmons court concluded that the trial court's finding that a taking had occurred was unquestionably supported. Id. Although Suire is correct that Simmons suggests that allegations of soil loss resulting from public dredging activities may support an inverse condemnation claim, the interference with property Suire has alleged in this case is not as extreme as the interference demonstrated in Simmons. However, we cannot find, as a matter of law, that the interference Suire has alleged does not rise to the level of a constitutional taking or damage. We find that the City has not demonstrated its entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the plaintiff's expropriation claim, and we affirm the court of appeal's reversal of summary judgment in the City's favor.