The Addicks & Barker Reservoir flooding
was not an accident
Your community was sacrificed to save Houston
The Addicks and Barker Flood-Control Project is located in western Harris County. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the 1940s to reduce flooding risks through downtown Houston, Addicks and Barker are still operated and maintained by Army Corps.
When the Army Corps originally built Addicks and Barker, it purchased only about half of the land needed to safely store the floodwaters held back and controlled by the dams. The Army Corps purchased inadequate land because it believed doing so would save the government money. Later, county authorities permitted developers to build residential neighborhoods on the privately owned land that lie within the reservoirs’ respective flood-pools.
In 2017, Hurricane Harvey brought on significant rainfall throughout the entire city of Houston. The Addicks and Barker Reservoirs, per their design and purpose, held back water to protect the City of Houston. However, court documents show that the Army Corps used over 7,000 acres of private land during and after Harvey to store the impounded floodwater. Thus, the neighborhoods upstream of the dams were sacrificed to prevent downstream flooding. The Army Corps’ decision to use this private land resulted in the extensive damage to thousands of homes and businesses upstream of the Addicks and Barker Reservoirs.
They said winning was impossible, we proved them wrong
After Harvey had passed and the flood waters had receded, thousands of Upstream residents and business owners demanded answers. When the public demanded justice, the Army Corps refused to take responsibility but instead, forced the Upstream residents to file lawsuits to protect and enforce their Fifth Amendment rights to just compensation. We are honored to represent over 1,400 Upstream families and businesses.
A hard-fought courtroom battle led to a historic decision. On December 17, 2019, Judge Lettow issued his ruling finding the government liable under the Fifth Amendment for the intentional flooding of Upstream homes and businesses. In a landmark order, Judge Lettow ruled that intentional Government action was the sole cause of the Upstream flooding.
The story behind
the win
Throughout 2018, Armi and his team took the lead in proving the Army Corps violated the 5th Amendment’s “taking clause” by obtaining the sworn testimony of dozens of government, county, and City of Houston witnesses. Armi and his legal team also obtained pictures and videos from Upstream plaintiffs to help prove that the Army Corps’ actions were the sole cause of upstream flooding. Judge Charles Lettow heard Plaintiff after Plaintiff testify about evacuating in boats, on air mattresses, or having to wade through contaminated flood waters. Judge Lettow also witnessed how homes and possessions were submerged long after Harvey’s rainfall had stopped. He felt the community’s demand for justice when hundreds of Upstream plaintiffs showed up for the liability trial.
Armi and his legal team overcame hundreds of objections lodged by the government’s lawyers. During a 3 day cross-examination of the Army Corp’s head engineer, there came a devastating admission: the Army Corps intentionally flooded the Upstream properties during Hurricane Harvey to protect the City of Houston, and would do so again. Armi also proved that the Army Corps was well aware that Upstream property owners had no idea that they lived and worked inside an undisclosed flood pool. FEMA maps do not show this high-risk area, and many homeowners are still unaware of this classification of their property
Armi and the Upstream legal team are currently working to get financial compensation for what the government took and destroyed. We offer a free consultation with no obligation. Know your options and help us hold the government accountable.
We are still accepting clients and want to help you
What you need to know
Most people are familiar with eminent domain, where the government pays for private property before taking and using it. Inverse condemnation cases are similar, except they describe the situation in which the government takes private property first, and then the landowner must file a court case to recover the compensation required by the 5th Amendment of the Constitution. We believe the victims of this government-created flooding should receive just compensation for the damage to their property rights, homes and possessions. It is important to file a claim today.
Both the Addicks and Barker reservoirs are operated and maintained by the Army Corps, and are therefore the responsibility of the federal government. During and after Harvey, subdivisions and neighborhoods upstream of the reservoirs were sacrificed to protect the City of Houston. The Army Corps’ decision to flood approximately 10,000 Upstream structures during Harvey prevented $7 billion in additional downstream property damage. It is undisputed that the Upstream homeowners and businesses were unaware their properties were located inside the Army Corps’ reservoirs, or that the risk of reservoir pool flooding is not shown on FEMA flood maps. Consequently, thousands of homeowners were unaware of the risk and weren’t covered by flood insurance. This has left thousands of people with no way to rebuild the destruction caused by the government’s intentional flooding.
THE FLOODING WAS INTENDED
THE GOVERNMENT CAUSED THE FLOODING
THE GOVERNMENT BENEFITED FROM THE TAKING
Throughout the liability trial, the government relentlessly argued that Harvey’s rainfall was the sole cause of all the upstream flooding and pointed the finger at property owners for choosing to buy homes in a “flood prone” area. The Judge rejected these arguments and held that the flooding was the “direct, natural, or probable result” of the government’s activity of using the dams to hold back and control rainfall runoff, which otherwise would have drained downstream and destroyed the City.
How can we help
Our experienced legal team will thoroughly investigate your claim to see if you are eligible for an award of just compensation. If you are eligible, we will work to hold the government accountable for its decision to sacrifice your property to protect the City of Houston. Over 1,600 families and businesses have hired Armi and his team, and you can do the same.
Depending on the circumstances of your case, our dedicated legal team will fight to help you seek the following forms of compensation:
Diminished Property Values: This includes compensation for the reduction in property values associated with the government’s use of homes and businesses as part of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs;
Damaged Structures: This includes compensation for flood damage to structures, which includes the cost to “muck out” the flooded homes and businesses, as well as the fair and reasonable costs to restore the structures to their pre-flood condition;
Damaged Personal Property: Furniture, clothing, and treasured family heirlooms were destroyed by the government’s decision to flood you. We will fight to recover the value of what was lost to the government’s flood waters;
Displacement Costs: Because of the government’s decision to use your home as part of its flood-control project, thousands of Upstream families and businesses were displaced. Many paid thousands to stay in hotels and apartments. Some were forced to sell their homes for lot values. We will fight to recover these displacement costs.
Business Losses: Healthy businesses were disrupted, and some were destroyed by the government’s choice to flood the Upstream area. We will seek to recover all available compensation for these businesses.
Non-Profit Losses: Churches, private schools, and other non-profit organizations were also devastated by the Government’s actions. We will work to obtain all available compensation for these non-profits.
Depend on our trustworthy and compassionate reservoir team to deliver the results you deserve
Contact us today for a free consultation