Takings Clause Authorizes Amended Suit Over Seven Seized Horses

The Eleventh Circuit bolstered the claims of a man who alleges Fulton County, Ga., illegally took seven of his horses by ruling he should be able to amend his complaint to sue under the Takings Clause.

A three-judge panel with the US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated a lower court order and remanded the case in a split decision with a sharply worded dissent.

“We don’t think the Constitution’s promise of ‘just compensation’ is an empty promise,” said Judge Robin S. Rosenbaum. So the plaintiff—Brandon Fulton—"can bring an action directly under the Takings Clause. And because ...