Lech Poses Questions on Police Powers, Property Loss
You wouldn’t have much sympathy for a thug who mugged an old widow after she cashed her Social Security check, barricaded himself into his own home, armed to the teeth, and was captured only after the cops bashed down the door.
And you surely would deny him the cost of repair to the door.
But what about the Colorado case from the 10th Circuit in which an innocent homeowner’s claim was denied after a wholly unrelated shoplifter dashed into the man’s house and waged a 19-hour standoff with the cops, who totally trashed the house to capture the crook?
Yes, the shoplifter was armed and had dope, and yes, the man had insurance which helped to rebuild the house from the ground up. But the owner said the insurance covered far less than the total rebuild the man insisted upon.
In the case, Lech v. Greenwood Village, 18-1051, the three-judge panel ruled that the homeowner, who had rented the place to his son, could not prevail in an eminent domain claim, since the action was an exercise of police powers and a non-compensable event.
In this incident the police say they went by the book, so a claim for tortious conduct would not lie. The ruling went to great lengths to outline the elements of actions under the police powers, acknowledging a ruling in another jurisdiction which allowed a claim for property loss. See, Wegner v. Milwaukee Mut. Ins. Co. 474 N.W. 2d 38 (MN 1991).
Obviously, the decision differs from cases where a defendant’s car is destroyed by police in a chase, or where instruments in a defendant’s dope lab are wrecked in an invasion.
Last term, the Supreme Court (Knick v. Scott Twp, 17-642) ruled that federal courts could hear eminent domain claims as soon as municipalities or states took property. But, of course, Lech was not an eminent domain case.
The decision in Lech was written by Judge Nancy Moritz, a former member of the Kansas Supreme Court.
User login
Omaha Daily Record
The Daily Record
222 South 72nd Street, Suite 302
Omaha, Nebraska
68114
United States
Tele (402) 345-1303
Fax (402) 345-2351