Details: Horne v. Department of Agriculture
on Jun 10, 2013 at 11:07 am
In an opinion announced by Justice Thomas for a unanimous Court, the Justices held that the petitioners may pursue their takings claim. The petitioners are raisin producers that had argued that the government committed a taking – requiring compensation under the Fifth Amendment – by fining them for failing to turn over part of their crop to be withheld from the market and thereby helping to raise prices. The ruling may have broad significance for other regulatory programs under which the government imposes fines for the failure to put property to a particular use. It also rejects the government’s attempt to argue that Takings claims often are not ripe because of a lack of final agency action and the availability of other remedies. The Justices conclude that the fine causes a present injury and the statutory scheme is the right way to pursue the Takings claim.
