The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is seeking dismissal of a lawsuit brought on behalf of more than 140 southeast Missouri farmers over damage caused by last year's intentional breach of the Birds Point levee at the height of spring flooding.The Southeast Missourian reports that government attorneys filed a motion to dismiss the suit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Oral arguments in the suit are scheduled to begin April 10 in Washington.
The corps claims the lawsuit fails to state a legitimate claim for which relief can be granted. It asserts that because the floodway is rarely intentionally breached, it doesn't constitute a government "taking" of the land.
Cape Girardeau attorney J. Michael Ponder, who is representing the farmers, calls the motion nonsense.