Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
Posted on 06/20/2025 9:05:45 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
A federal judge has ordered the city of McKinney to pay almost $60,000 plus interest to 81-year-old Vicki Baker.
Why the big payday? Baker’s home was torn apart by a SWAT team during a 2020 police standoff.
Baker took the city to court after her house became the battleground for a high-stakes manhunt, reported WFAA. McKinney police unleashed tear gas, explosives, and tactical vehicles on the property while chasing a fugitive who had barricaded himself inside.
Insurance plans do not cover “acts of the government” and the city refused to pay for the damage, so Vicki joined forces with the Institute for Justice (IJ) to file a lawsuit in March 2021.
“I’ve just learned that my battle with the city of McKinney is coming to an end,” Baker said in a statement on June 5. “Judge Mazzant has, once again, ruled that I am due just compensation under the Texas Constitution.”......
The incident left more than $50,000 in damage to the house, according to Baker, with her insurance covering only the destruction caused by Little, not the police’s tactical incursion.
The city of McKinney initially refused to pay, citing sovereign immunity, a legal shield that often protects cities from liability unless waived or overturned by a judge.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you.
did the decision not to pay cost someone their job?
did mckinney voters clean house?
She went through all that, and got $60k.
I’m just mentally comparing that to the paydays so many frivolous lawsuit filers get.
You think she would have received legal fees. Unfortunately the city’s legal fees were paid by taxes.
Governments always act to protect themselves.
Sadly, she does not appear to be entitled to a major cash award. D’oh.
plus interest ..............
The damage might have been necessary but you fix what you broke. And to the person on the thread who is going to whine about the poor taxpayers.... for the love of mike. Fifty thousand was not going to bankrupt the city, the police department or any other official entity and they spent five or six times that amount on lawyer bills.
It is not a hard concept, when you broke it you fix what you can for your innocent citizens.
And people will not loath you.
So the local government is essentially a dictatorship with infinite powers. “sovereign immunity” and “eminent domain” are proof of that. The Constitution doesn’t apply when government doesn’t want it to apply.
Just inflation alone makes that $74,767.71.
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=60000&year1=202001&year2=202505
Seems like there should be a bigger payment for making her wait and go through 5 years in the courts!
5% Simple Annual Interest yields $76,576.89............
You make an obvious point that is addressed in the fifth amendment in regards to this case:
“nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation”
And this was an "taking". The lawyers argue that "we gave it back", but not in the condition that you took it.
And also insurance needs to have it's horns trimmed. They have bought so many exceptions and exemptions for their coverage that it is becoming questionable if they are worth it.
The City of McKinney will appeal ... tying up this decision in the courts for years.
Sovereign immunity should NEVER apply to these situations
You can bet they didn’t give her any breaks on property tax during those years either.
I bet the 60K is before lawyer fees.
No fees, the IJ represent individuals free of charge when their constitutional rights are violated by the government.
Excellent!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.