Jacobs v. United States

Petitioner Jacobs and the testator of petitioner Gunter owned farms lying along Jones Creek, a tributary of the Tennessee River, in Jackson County, Alabama. Across this river the United States constructed Widow’s Bar Dam under authority of Acts of Congress, 39 Stat. 399; 40 Stat. 1282. Surveys by the Government showed that the construction of the dam caused an increase in the occasional overflows of petitioners’ lands and negotiations followed for the purchase of easements of flowage. 'Offers of settlement being deemed to be inadequate, petitioners .brought separate suits under the Tucker…