Government Decides NOT to appeal Addicks-Barker Upstream Case to Supreme Court

9/4/2026 – In what appears to be a victory for plaintiffs in the Addicks-Barker Upstream litigation, McGehee ☆ Chang, Feiler announced today that the government has decided not to appeal to the United States Supreme Court.

“In that case, the appellate process would be over.”

McGehee ☆ Chang, Feiler

Next Step: Determining Compensation for Victims

With that, the case will proceed to the final stage – determining the amount of compensation to each of the property owners in the Upstream area.

The government advised that it will be working with the law firm’s upstream team to determine and streamline an agreeable process. “The Upstream team and the government have been mediating throughout the earlier part of this year, and we are confident that a mutually agreeable method can be worked out,” said the McGehee team.

Judge Hertling previously stated and reiterated that he wants to move forward quickly and give compensation to the property owners.

Compensation Conference Coming in October

The judge will reportedly return to Houston in October and host another conference.

McGehee stated, “We are very encouraged by this development and will provide more updates as the final stage of the case progresses.”

Only three weeks ago, the government sought an extension while it considered whether to appeal to the Supreme Court. But the time for that extension ran out today.

History of Case

The Upstream and Downstream cases were split into separate groups because the cases differed fundamentally. The downstream homeowners flooded due to floodgate operation. The upstream homeowners flooded because homes were built inside the reservoirs.

The initial trial phase of the upstream case drew to a close in the second half of 2022. The judge ruled the government was liable for damages. But the government appealed on December 29, 2022. Three years later, on December 29, 2025, the Court of Appeals, after 13 months of deliberations, affirmed the trial court’s ruling on the issue of liability. It agreed that the government is liable for taking of the Upstream homeowners’ property.

The homeowners contended that when the reservoirs were built, the Corps didn’t buy enough property within them. Private developers then built homes within the reservoirs. The government warned as early as 1973 that it knew of the problem and that homes could be flooded.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/4/2026

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