Oregon Supreme Court on Physical Takings Claims

In the case of Dunn v. City of Milwaukie, the Oregon Supreme Court recently issued a valuable decision addressing the standards for when government can be held liable for a taking due to physical invasion of private property (at least under the Oregon Takings Clause, though the decision relies in part on federal precedent).

The case arose (hold your nose) when the city’s use of high-pressure “hydrocleaning” to wash the public sewer system caused sewage to back up and spill into the plaintiff’s house through toilets and other bathroom fixtures.   A jury found for the plaintiff and awarded compensation, and the award was affirmed by the Oregon Court of Appeals.  The Oregon Supreme Court has now reversed. Read on …