United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED August 21, 2023 No. 22-20019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

St. Maron Properties, L.L.C.; Yang Su, doing business as Re-Mart Investment; John Winkler; Jose M. Gallegos,

Plaintiffs—Appellants,

versus

City of Houston; Ella Park Terrace Civic Club,

Defendants—Appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 4:19-CV-900

Before Dennis, Elrod, and Ho, Circuit Judges. James C. Ho, Circuit Judge: A group of property owners alleges that the Mayor of Houston, the City Council, and the City Attorney concocted a scheme to trespass on and damage their properties to benefit neighboring residents—all without permission, compensation, or due process. The property owners allege that the City used their empty lots as a dumping ground for construction materials, thereby rendering their land unable to absorb water. As a result, neighboring residences were frequently flooded over subsequent decades. After numerous complaints from the neighboring residents, the Mayor and Case: 22-20019 Document: 00516866428 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/21/2023

No. 22-20019

City Council directed city officials to conduct various remediation efforts on the lots, thereby damaging the properties—all without the consent of the owners. The property owners—Jose M. Gallegos, John Winkler, Yang Su (doing business as Re-Mart Investment), and St. Maron Properties— brought, inter alia, § 1983 claims against the City under the Takings Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause, as well as state law tort and statutory claims. The district court dismissed the state law claims as barred by sovereign immunity. It also dismissed the § 1983 claims under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to satisfy the requirements for municipal liability under Monell v. Dep’t of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658 (1978). We affirm the dismissal of the state law claims. But we reverse the dismissal of the § 1983 claims. Under Monell, a § 1983 plaintiff may not proceed against a municipality unless the injury was caused by an official policy of the municipality. But here, the property owners allege that city officials violated their rights at the specific direction of the Mayor and the City Council. That is enough to establish liability under Monell. “If the decision to adopt [a] particular course of action is properly made by th[e] government’s authorized decisionmakers, it surely represents an act of official government policy.” Pembaur v. City of Cincinnati, 475 U.S. 469, 481 (1986). Accordingly, we hold that the property owners are entitled to proceed against the City on their federal claims. I. For purposes of this appeal, we accept the factual allegations in Plain- tiffs’ complaint as true. See, e.g., Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009).

2 Case: 22-20019 Document: 00516866428 Page: 3 Date Filed: 08/21/2023

No.