Government irrigation districts are common fixtures in the American West and essential lifelines for ranchers and farmers who depend on reliable water access to keep agricultural operations flowing.
Among the 34,000 acres serviced by the Heart Mountain Irrigation District (HMID) in rural Wyoming is Tom and Ayda Hamann’s 100-acre ranch where they grow hay and pasture their Red Angus cattle herd. They pay taxes and assessments to HMID for water access, and upkeep of a canal and maintenance road along the north side of the canal that crosses their property—a setup that worked without issue for nearly a century.
In 2016, the Hamanns discovered HMID’s plans to build a second road through their land along the canal’s south side. The agency claimed an unrecorded easement on both sides of the canal gave it this right. The Hamanns disagreed that the easement extended to the canal’s other side, noting the existing road had always sufficed for maintenance and operations and the new road would plow straight through fencing, pastured livestock, and a log archway the Hamanns put up on their own land.
Two years passed with the two sides still locked in dispute, when the situation took a violent turn. HMID Manager Randy Watts arrived at the Hamanns’ property with heavy equipment and a crew, ostensibly to move a concrete bowl that helps irrigate a neighbor’s land. The Hamanns had given permission for this limited task.
But boasting that he “had more power than the sheriff,” Watts and his HMID crew began tearing down the Hamanns’ fences and archway the second Tom stepped away to call police and his attorney.
When Tom returned to protect his property, Watts hit him with an excavator bucket, cracking a neck bone. By the time the actual sheriff arrived, the agency’s crew racked up nearly ten thousand dollars in property damage.
When the government takes or damages private property, it must notify the owner and pay just compensation. Failure to do so is illegal under the Constitution.
Tom sued in state court using a legal remedy called “inverse condemnation,” in which property owners have to chase down payment for property losses caused by government actions—the reverse of eminent domain, where the government initiates the process and pays first.
Tom’s argument was straightforward: Government can’t avoid its obligations under the Constitution merely by disclaiming responsibility for its employees who damage private property while performing their duties. Nevertheless, the court dismissed the case, reasoning that because the HMID Board of Directors had not expressly authorized Watts’s actions in a public meeting, no governmental taking occurred.
The trial court ruling was a setback for Tom. But worse, it endorsed an alarming legal loophole for government agencies to avoid their obligations simply by claiming their employees’ destructive actions weren’t specifically authorized.
With free representation from Pacific Legal Foundation, Tom is asking the Wyoming Supreme Court to restore his property rights and hold agencies like HMID accountable to the rule of law.
What’s At Stake?
- The government cannot take—or damage—private property without notice and just compensation. Nor can the government escape these obligations when its employees damage private property. Property owners like Tom and Ayda Hamann deserve their day in court and compensation for the unconstitutional destruction of their property.
