Ruling in an important takings case, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned a long-standing precedent and said plaintiffs can go directly to federal court to vindicate their Fifth Amendment right to “just compensation” when the government takes their property.

The 5-4 decision in Knick v. Township of Scott represents the second time the court this term has overturned a significant precedent, and Justice Elena Kagan, who authored a dissent in the case, said the majority's decision “transgresses all usual principles of stare decisis,” the principle of standing by precedents.

Kagan added, “Under cover of overruling 'only' a single decision, today's opinion smashes a hundred-plus years of legal rulings to smithereens.” She also wrote, “Its consequence is to channel a mass of quintessentially local cases involving complex state-law issues into federal courts.”