⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

The Federal Circuit hears D C Water versus the United States. In nineteen thirty-eight, Washington needed land for a new reservoir. The Soldiers' Home, now part of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, allowed the reservoir on its grounds in exchange for free water. Decades later, D C Water sought payment for sewer service. The home said the old arrangement protected it from those charges too. D C Water sued in twenty eighteen. The Court of Federal Claims ultimately awarded about six hundred thirty-three thousand dollars for fiscal year twenty twenty-one, rejecting the claimed exemption. The United States is appealing. The dispute centers on a nineteen fifty-four law requiring federal agencies to pay utility charges, and an exception for water services furnished for the water system's maintenance, operation, or extension. Mister Phillips, a Justice Department attorney, will argue that the reservoir arrangement falls within that exception.

District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority v. US (No. 24-2293) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, argued October 8, 2026.