William F. Smith: “The issues we discuss today are those of equity and fairness. Every homeowner and every property owner across America…”

“The issues we discuss today are those of equity and fairness. Every homeowner and every property owner across America deserves to have their day in court, and not just in court but in the right court. Many legislative initiatives are identified with an individual. We have Megan's Law, the Ryan White Act and the Ricky Ray bill. Today we consider H.R. 992, the Tucker Act Shuffle Relief Act. Maybe we should call it the Narromore Act or the Presault Act or any of the other names of the property owners whose cases demonstrate the real need for this legislation. W.O. and Eliza Narromore's property was flooded as a result of the government's operation of the Painted Rock Dam in Arizona. They first filed suit in 1980 in an attempt to force the United States to stop flooding their land. In 1988, their case had gone to the appeals court, and then had been sent back to the lower court for retrial. At that trial, the United States moved for dismissal of the case, saying the Narromores' claim should have been for compensation to the court of Federal claims. The Federal circuit agreed with the government and transferred the case to the court of Federal claims in 1992, sending the Narromores back to square one again. Today, 17 years later, their case is still pending.”