Houin v. IDNR: Court of Appeals Affirms Inverse Condemnation Judgment for Grain Farmer

The wheels of justice do not always turn quickly. Persistence over an eight-year journey brought closure for a Marshall County farm that experienced repeated flooding at the hands of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The team at Janzen Schroder Ag Law worked with the Houin farm family to bring their case to a successful end this fall. The case, process, and ultimate resolution provides a study for the patience and persistence necessary to take on a state government agency with unlimited resources and little incentive to settle.

The Case

The Houin family has raised row crops in Marshall County, Indiana, for decades. A portion of the Houins’ farmland sits in the watershed for the Lake of the Woods. In 1986, the Marshall Circuit Court issued an order establishing a summer average level for the lake—a compromise that benefited the surrounding farmers and recreational lake users. The lake water level is regulated by a control structure (dam) at the lake’s downstream outlet. Historically, the farmers and the lake residents worked together to regulate the water level in accordance with the Court-ordered legal average.

 However, in about 2009, the Indiana DNR took over operation of the dam. The DNR did not operate the control structure in a way that maintained the legal average during the summer months. The DNR ignored local weather conditions and left the control structure closed longer than it would have been under earlier protocol. This change led to higher average summer water levels in the lake and flooded the Houins’ farm fields after heavy summer rains.

 In 2015, the DNR acknowledged it had been operating the dam in a manner that failed to meet “the spirit of the Marshall County Circuit Court’s order for maintaining the lake level.” The DNR downplayed the problem, calling it simply an “innocent keystroke error.” Of course, this mismanagement of the dam had dire consequences for the Houins’ nearby crops, which suffered as result of higher than average lake levels.

 The Process

The Houins filed suit against the DNR in 2017 and sought damages for crop loss and damaged field tile which had silted shut after multiple flooding events. After years of litigation, the matter went to trial in January 2021.

 At trial, an environmental expert explained the hydrologic connection between the field tiles and the lake level. The Houins explained how their high-tech field equipment precisely measured crop damages caused by high water levels when compared to nearby similar non-impacted fields. An expert accountant confirmed the Houins’ crop yield damages. The DNR argued it could not be liable for its actions because water is a “common enemy.”

 The Court rejected the DNR’s arguments. The common enemy defense is only available to landowners and only applies to surface water, not lake water. The Court further rejected the DNR’s argument that the Houins were somehow negligent for continuing to farm the affected fields. Instead, the Court held it was reasonable for the Houins to assume the DNR would operate the dam in accordance with the 1986 Court Order. The trial court ruled in favor of the Houins on their negligence, nuisance, and inverse condemnation (taking) claims and ordered the DNR to pay the Houins $485,644.

 The DNR appealed the Marshall County Court’s decision. The Court of Appeals decided the DNR was immune from tort liability under the Indiana Dam Safety Act but held the Act did not apply to the Houins’ claim that the DNR’s repeated flooding of farmland was a taking under the U.S. and Indiana constitutions. Thus, the Court upheld the taking claim and remanded the case back to Marshall County for further determination of damages related to the taking. The DNR asked the Indiana Supreme Court to take the case and reverse the decision, but the Court declined, leaving the Court of Appeals’ ruling in favor of the Houins in place.

The Conclusion

Back before the Marshall County Court, another round of briefing and another court hearing led to an agreed order, requiring the DNR to pay the Houins $810,000, which includes damages for impacted field tiles, lost crops, attorneys’ fees, and post-judgement interest.

 This settlement enables the Houin Grain Farm to continue its legacy of farming in Marshall County. “These farmers are a good, hardworking farm family who fell victim to water mismanagement,” said Todd Janzen. “It is unfortunate that they were put through this long, grueling legal battle, but we are elated that justice finally prevailed.” Brianna Schroeder added that “the Courts got this one right—the DNR’s actions caused significant repeated flooding across many acres of farmland and I’m glad the DNR eventually compensated the Houins for all those damages.”

 The team at Janzen Schroeder was honored to represent this family and is committed to helping all clients secure justice and continue advancing their agricultural operations.