Supreme Court Report

Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →

St. Bernard Parish, et al. v. United States

Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, No. 2016-2301, 2016-2373 · judgment April 20, 2018

Certiorari denied · January 7, 2019
Pre-decision estimate: 1% cert probability

Before the decision, well below the 4.1% base rate, with no standout signals pointing toward a grant.

Questions presented

In Arkansas Game, this Court admonished the Federal Circuit to eschew “blanket exclusionary rules” immunizing the Government from liability in takings cases. Arkansas Game and Fish Comm’n v. United States, 568 U.S. 23, 37 (2012). Nevertheless, the Federal Circuit in this case adopted two such categorical exemptions. The questions presented are:

  1. When a government project foreseeably causes catastrophic flooding of private property, is the Government categorically exempt from takings liability on the ground that its failure to take steps to prevent or mitigate the project’s destructive effects amounts to “inaction”?

  2. Is the Government categorically exempt from takings liability any time a government flood control structure fails to prevent flooding, even if the Government’s own intentional conduct relating to a separate project having nothing to do with flood control foreseeably caused the failure of the flood control structure and the resulting flooding?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Charles Justin Cooper
Cooper & Kirk, PLLC

For respondent
Noel John Francisco
Jones Day

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 1 conference

Amicus briefs
2 cert-stage

Linked docket
18A4

Proceedings

  1. Jan 07 2019
    Petition DENIED.
  2. Dec 05 2018
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 1/4/2019.
  3. Dec 03 2018
    Reply of petitioners St. Bernard Parish Government, et al. filed.
  4. Nov 20 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including November 20, 2018.
  5. Nov 20 2018
    Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
  6. Nov 19 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from November 19, 2018 to November 20, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  7. Oct 19 2018
    Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation filed.
  8. Oct 19 2018
    Brief amici curiae of Cato Institute, et al. filed.
  9. Oct 11 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including November 19, 2018.
  10. Oct 10 2018
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from October 19, 2018 to November 19, 2018, submitted to The Clerk.
  11. Oct 05 2018
    Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, St. Bernard Parish Government, et al..
  12. Sep 17 2018
    Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 19, 2018)
  13. Aug 21 2018
    Application (18A4) to extend further the time from August 31, 2018 to September 17, 2018, submitted to The Chief Justice.
    Written RequestProof of Service
  14. Aug 21 2018
    Application (18A4) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until September 17, 2018.
  15. Jul 03 2018
    Application (18A4) granted by The Chief Justice extending the time to file until August 31, 2018.
  16. Jun 26 2018
    Application (18A4) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 19, 2018 to August 31, 2018, submitted to The Chief Justice.
    Main DocumentLower Court Orders/OpinionsProof of Service