WASHINGTON (AP) — A Louisiana “dirt farmer” is asking the Supreme Court’s help in getting paid for all the soil a local government took for flood control projects.
Chad Jarreau (JAR’-roh) of Cut Off, Louisiana, has been digging up his 17-acre tract for years and selling the dirt for use in construction projects.
But in 2011, the local flood control district said it needed dirt from Jarreau’s property.
It paid him $1,326, even though Jarreau had a contract for dirt worth more than $150,000.
The issue Jarreau is raising at the Supreme Court is whether the “just compensation” a government must pay when it takes someone’s property includes the value of the business that is lost because of the government’s action.
A decision on hearing the case could come as early as Monday.