United States v. Dow
Headline: Court reverses appeals court and rules the government’s 1943 occupation fixed the taking, blocking a 1945 buyer from collecting the condemnation award and preserving earlier owners’ payment rights.
Holding: The Court held that the Government’s 1943 physical occupation was the time of the taking, so the owners then—not the 1945 purchaser—were entitled to compensation, and Dow cannot recover.
- Owner in possession when the government occupied the land gets the compensation.
- Buyers after government occupation must protect claims by contract with sellers.
- Filing a declaration later does not shift who is entitled to payment.
Summary
Background
In 1943 the United States obtained court-ordered immediate possession of a narrow pipeline right-of-way across a large Texas tract and built a pipeline that has been in continuous use. The tract was owned by the Garrett estate and heirs at that time. In November 1945 Dow bought the larger tract by deed that excepted the pipeline right-of-way as subject to the prior condemnation. The Government later filed a declaration of taking in 1946, deposited estimated compensation, and commissioners awarded $4,450 for the easement. The District Court found that Dow’s grantors had intended to transfer any claim to the award to Dow, and the Government then sought to dismiss Dow based on the Anti-Assignment (Assignment of Claims) Act.
Reasoning
The central question was whether the claim to just compensation vested when the Government physically entered and appropriated the land in 1943 or when it filed the declaration of taking in 1946. The Court held that the taking occurred when the United States entered into possession in 1943, so the owners at that moment held the compensation claim. The opinion explained that letting the later filing date govern would create unfair or anomalous results—such as mismatched valuation dates, delayed interest, and opportunities for manipulation—and that the Declaration of Taking Act does not displace the ordinary rule that possession fixes the taking date. Because the transfer of the claim to Dow was found to be a voluntary assignment, it ran afoul of the Assignment of Claims Act.
Real world impact
The ruling means compensation belongs to whoever owned the land when the Government actually occupied it. Buyers who acquire property after a Government occupation cannot automatically claim the award and must protect themselves contractually. The decision clarifies timing for valuation, interest, and who the Government must pay in condemnation cases.
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