Angela Mae Brannan, Individually and as Independent of the Estate of Bob Albert Brannan v. State of Texas

Storms on Surfside Beach on the Gulf of Mexico have moved the vegetation line landward of petitioners’ houses. 1 When the Village of Surfside Beach refused to allow the houses to be repaired or to have access to utilities, and the State asserted that the houses encroach on a public access easement and must be removed, petitioners sued, contending among other things that the State’s assertion amounts to a constitutionally compensable taking of their property. The court of appeals rejected petitioners’ claims, 365 S.W.3d 1 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 2010), and petitioners sought review in…