Fleming v. United States

DURFEE, Judge.

Plaintiffs, citizens and permanent residents of Saipan, Mariana Islands, allege in this action that the United States Government has taken their property, i. e., trochus1 shells, without just compensation in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution. Plaintiffs, therefore, claim compensation for the alleged taking.2

The Island of Saipan is a part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and on the dates pertinent herein was governed and administered by the United States Navy, under Executive Order No. 10408 3 on behalf of the United States, under a United Nations…