Ranching family settles lawsuit holding government accountable for property damage
A Wyoming ranching family is claiming victory after government officials agreed to settle their lawsuit. Tom and Ayda Hamman sued the Heart Mountain Irrigation District (HMID) after government workers caused thousands of dollars in property damage—and significant bodily injury—when they illegally destroyed fencing and an entryway on the family’s property.
“This victory, like the Wyoming Supreme Court’s ruling in the Hamanns’ favor, shows that the government cannot avoid its constitutional obligations because of bureaucratic technicalities,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Austin Waisanen. “Government agencies must pay just compensation when their employees take or damage property, not refuse accountability.”
Tom and Ayda’s saga began in 2016 when HMID claimed a right to build a road through their property—and refused to take no for an answer. An HMID manager entered their property with a team and heavy equipment in 2018. Although the family had opposed the plan for years, the manager began demolishing the Hamanns’ fence and other property to begin the road.
The manager, who once told the Hamanns he had “more power than the sheriff,” refused to stop destroying the family’s property when confronted. Instead, he instructed his employees to hurry and remove the Hamanns’ entryway before sheriff’s deputies could arrive. When Tom finally stood in his way to beg him to stop, the manager swung the bucket of the excavator he was driving into Tom, causing permanent and irreversible brain damage.
Reflecting on the horrific incident years later, Tom said, “You don’t understand, unless you’ve had a head injury, how far-reaching this is. A head injury is like having cancer, but you never die.… The only victory I can get is knowing that hopefully, these bullies don’t do it to other people and it never happens again.”
What Tom and Ayda endured was a living nightmare. They were determined to hold HMID accountable for its actions so the district could not violate other people’s rights like it had theirs. They filed a lawsuit to require HMID to pay just compensation for the damage it had wreaked across their land and lives.
Unfortunately, HMID tried to avoid responsibility instead. The district claimed that it could not be held liable for the damage and violence because its board had not “officially authorized” the manager’s actions in a public meeting. Based on this argument, a district court dismissed the Hamanns’ takings claim.
In January 2025, Pacific Legal Foundation stepped in to represent the family during their appeal. The Hamanns argued that it didn’t matter whether a board had sanctioned the manager’s behavior in a meeting—government agencies act through their employees and therefore have a constitutional duty to provide just compensation for property damage caused by their employees’ actions.
The Wyoming Supreme Court unanimously agreed, ruling in the Hamanns’ favor and sending the case back to the trial court for reconsideration in July. The court held that despite HMID’s claims, bureaucratic technicalities “cannot be used to shield governmental entities from liability for the authorized conduct of their agents.”
The Hamanns’ legal battle concluded last week when Tom and Ayda received settlement funds from the irrigation district. Under the terms of the settlement, HMID will pay the Hamanns $30,000 for the damage to their property.
Thanks to Tom and Ayda’s bravery, there is now legal precedent affirming that government agencies must provide just compensation when they take or damage Americans’ property—even if those agencies would rather avoid liability by arguing that employees acted on their own.
