⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

A fight over a Rhode Island pond has become a fight over which court gets to decide its price. In 2024, Coventry took Johnson's Pond, its dam, and nearby land from private owners through eminent domain: the government's power to acquire private property for public use with just compensation. The town deposited an estimated one hundred fifty-seven thousand dollars in state court. Soscia Holdings and related companies later sued in federal court for compensation and other damages; they no longer seek to undo the taking. A federal judge halted the state-court compensation proceedings, and the town appealed. The owners rely on Knick, a Supreme Court decision allowing federal takings claims without first litigating for compensation in state court. The question here is whether that access to federal court also justifies stopping the state case. A state compensation judgment might bind the federal court, a concern called preclusion. You'll also hear about abstention: circumstances in which a federal court steps aside despite having authority to hear a case. Nicole Benjamin will argue for the town and its officials. Greg Estabrooks will defend the owners' federal forum.

Soscia Holdings, LLC v. Town of Coventry (No. 26-1272) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, argued November 2, 2026.