A recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling could have implications for property owners and law enforcement agencies across the state, including here in Northwest Georgia, by rejecting the idea that the state is automatically protected from compensation claims whenever private property is damaged during police activity.

The case, Blue 42 Organics, LLC v. Georgia Department of Public Safety, stems from a July 2021 drug-suppression operation involving a licensed hemp farm in Dahlonega. The Georgia Supreme Court issued its decision on September 9.

Blue 42 Organics alleged that three helicopters and a fixed-wing aircraft flew at low altitude over its property during an operation by the Governor’s Drug Suppression Task Force. According to the lawsuit, rotor and propeller wash destroyed two rows of hemp plants valued at approximately $37,000. The farm was legally registered with state and federal agriculture agencies and had provided the GPS coordinates of its growing operation.

The company sued the Georgia Department of Public Safety, arguing that the Georgia Constitution requires the government to provide just compensation when private property is taken or damaged for a public purpose.

A trial court dismissed the lawsuit, and the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld that decision after DPS argued that the damage occurred while the state was exercising its police powers.

The Georgia Supreme Court disagreed with the idea that exercising police power creates a blanket exemption from Georgia’s constitutional requirement for just compensation. The court noted that exceptions can exist in circumstances such as government action to eliminate a nuisance or during an urgent necessity, but DPS had not established either circumstance when seeking dismissal of this case.

The decision does not mean the hemp farm has been awarded $37,000 or that DPS has ultimately been found liable. Instead, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court ruling and sent the case back for further proceedings, allowing the farm’s compensation claim to continue. Other defenses may still be raised as the case moves forward.

The ruling could be significant beyond this particular case because it clarifies that simply labeling property damage as the result of a law-enforcement action does not automatically prevent a Georgia property owner from pursuing a constitutional compensation claim.