Nation: Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Property Rights

Recently, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in favor of property rights and property owners in Hawkes vs. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a case in which NAR joined as party to an amicus brief. The Court issued its opinion upholding the property owner’s right to appeal in court an Army Corps of Engineers determination that the owner’s property contains federally regulated “waters of the United States.” In the amicus brief, NAR contended that the decisions hurt landowners without giving them a proper appeals process.  Property owners shouldn’t have to go through an expensive and burdensome appeals process to be able to sue the Corps of Engineers. The Supreme Court agreed, 8-0.