McMurray v. Verizon Communications

For takings claims related to action that has already taken place, plaintiffs must follow the procedure set out in the Tucker Act prior to filing suit for takings.

Joe McMurray, along with other residential telephone and interest customers (collectively "Plaintiffs"), filed suit against the National Security Agency and various telecommunications companies in response to President George W. Bush's wiretapping program. Plaintiffs alleged that § 802 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act violated the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, by granting immunity to telecommunications companies who cooperated with the federal government, and thereby "took" the plaintiffs cause of action. The district court dismissed the case by stating that Congress has a procedure to deal with takings of this nature. The Ninth Circuit held that the Tucker Act allows for plaintiffs to file suit for compensation related to takings claims subsequent to the taking, and that any claims the plaintiffs filed were premature as they had not followed the procedure set out in the Tucker Act. AFFIRMED.