Wild Rice River Estates, Inc. v. City of Fargo

705 N.W.2d 850 (2005)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Wild Rice River Estates, Inc. v. City of Fargo

North Dakota Supreme Court
705 N.W.2d 850 (2005)

  • Written by Tanya Munson, JD

Facts

Wild Rice River Estates, Inc. (Wild Rice) (plaintiff) was the owner and developer of a residential subdivision along the banks of the Wild Rice River three miles south of the City of Fargo (the city) (defendant). Anton Rutten purchased Wild Rice in 1947 and had hoped to develop a subdivision on the property. In 1993 the property was platted with 38 lots. The area where Wild Rice was located was prone to flooding. In 1997, the area was so severely flooded that all the undeveloped lots in Wild Rice were submerged and underwater. After this flood, the city began working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to plan for future floods. FEMA designated a preliminary floodway that encompassed several Wild Rice lots. In August of 1998, the city commission decided to place a moratorium on the issuance of all building permits for new construction within the designated preliminary floodway area until FEMA made a final determination on their flood-plain map. Wild Rice had received interest in their lots and one offer from a potential buyer but was not permitted to build on or sell any lots that were located within the designated preliminary floodway area. Before the moratorium, Wild Rice had only sold one lot. Wild Rice brought an inverse-condemnation action against the city. Approximately one month later, the city voted to lift the moratorium. Once the moratorium was lifted, Wild Rice sold five lots for much higher values than the first property it sold. The trial court held a bench trial and ruled in favor of the city and concluded that there was no taking of Wild Rice’s property. Wild Rice appealed the decision and argued that the court erred in dismissing the inverse-condemnation claim because the moratorium constituted a taking.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Vande Walle, C.J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership