Hampton v. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

This case present question, in action against defendant seeking damages arising out of flooding of plaintiffs’ properties arising out of defendant’s control of local waterway system, as to whether trial court properly denied defendant’s motion to dismiss, after rejecting defendant’s claim that temporary flooding that occurred following heavy rainfall was not “taking” under Illinois Constitution. Appellate Court, in answering certified question, found that U.S. Sup. Ct. case of Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. U.S., 133 S.Ct. 511, effectively overruled Ill. Sup. Ct. holding in People ex rel. Pratt v. Rosenfield, 399 Ill. 247, to extent that Pratt holds that temporary flooding of property can never be compensable taking under Ill. Constitution. As such, Ct. remanded case for further proceedings for consideration as to whether instant flooding was compensable act under three factors set forth in Arkansas Game case.