Can a property owner who says the government took her property without paying for it and therefore violated the Fifth Amendment Takings Clause sue the government in federal court? That seemingly straightforward question has spawned decades of litigation and commentary.

In a 1985 decision, Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank, 473 U.S. 172 (1985), the Supreme Court said no, not unless the property owner first sues in state court if state procedures to obtain compensation are available, because “just compensation” has not been denied under the Takings Clause until the property owner has followed the state compensation process. Then, in a 2005 decision, San Remo Hotel v. City & County of San Francisco, 545 U.S. 323 (2005), the Supreme Court held that a property owner who has sought compensation in state court, as required under Williamson County, is barred under principles of preclusion and full faith and credit from later suing for compensation in federal court. Those decisions together effectively prevented property owners from bringing takings claims for compensation in federal district court.