The Georgia Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion penned by Chief Justice Peterson, overturned a lower‑court ruling that had barred Blue 42 Organics LLC from seeking damages after a 2021 Department of Public Safety raid. The court held that invoking the state’s broad police power does not automatically waive the constitutional duty to provide just compensation when private property is harmed for public purposes. By striking down the McCoy v. Sanders precedent, the decision restores the balance between law‑enforcement needs and property rights.
Blue 42 operates a hemp farm in Dahlonega, fully licensed by the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On July 21, 2021, three helicopters and a single‑engine aircraft from the Governor’s Drug Suppression Task Force flew at dangerously low altitude over the property, destroying two rows of cultivated hemp and allegedly harassing cattle on leased pasture. The grower valued the loss at roughly $37,000 and sued the DPS for an inverse‑condemnation claim under the state constitution.
A trial court had dismissed the suit, accepting the DPS’s argument that the damage occurred while exercising police powers. The Court of Appeals upheld that dismissal, effectively preventing compensation. The Supreme Court rejected that reasoning, noting that the police‑power exemption cannot serve as a blanket shield against the just‑compensation clause. The court also clarified that only narrow exceptions—such as abatement of nuisances or urgent necessity—might still exempt the state from paying, and Blue 42 had not proven either exception at the motion‑to‑dismiss stage.
The ruling sends a clear message that property owners harmed by law‑enforcement actions cannot automatically escape compensation claims. The court remanded the case for further proceedings, allowing Blue 42 to pursue the $37,000 claim in lower courts. The decision may influence similar disputes across the country, as other states wrestle with whether police damage to private property requires payment under their constitutions or the U.S. Supreme Court’s Takings Clause.