The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Vindicates 13 Beachfront Property Owners; Court finds that Walton County unconstitutionally took private property during COVID-19 pandemic
Walton County, Fla. November 17. 2025 – Today, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the constitutional rights of 13 private beachfront property owners in Walton County were violated during the COVID19 pandemic when Walton County Commissioners adopted an ordinance making it a crime for these owners to set foot in their privately owned backyards.
“The property owners are thankful that justice has been served through our legal system.” said Kent Safriet, a partner with Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak, PLLC and counsel for the property owners. “Walton County will be held accountable for compensating these landowners for taking their property, along with covering their legal expenses incurred during the litigation.”
The Court of Appeals found the ordinance violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment clause that prevents a government from taking private property without the payment of just compensation. Prior to the 2020 ordinance adoption the County Attorney advised County Commissioners that they lacked the authority to restrict beachfront property owners’ property rights. The Court stated:
This case involves a textbook physical taking: Walton County enacted an ordinance barring the Landowners from entering and remaining on their private property; Walton County’s officers physically occupied the Landowners’ property; and Walton County’s officers excluded the Landowners from their own property under threat of arrest and criminal prosecution. In other words, Walton County wrested the rights to possess, use, and exclude from the Landowners, and it took those rights for itself. That triggers the Landowner’s right to just compensation.
“Private property rights are the foundation of this nation and enshrined in the constitution. It’s time Walton County acknowledge and respect the private property rights of its landowners.” said property owner Eric Wilhelm. “The Commissioners ignored the advice of their own County Attorney, a decision that impacts the taxpayers of Walton County and could have been easily avoided.”
The Court of Appeals rejected the notion that COVID was even relevant:
But there is no COVID exception to the Takings Clause. Instead, the government must respect constitutional rights during public emergencies, lest the tools of our security become the means of our undoing. “The Founders recognized that the protection of private property is indispensable to the promotion of individual freedom. As John Adams tersely put it, ‘[p]roperty must be secured, or liberty cannot exist.’ (citation omitted)
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there is no COVID exception to the Takings Clause. In fact, there is no exception for any reason—when a physical taking occurs, “a simple, per se rule” applies: “The government must pay for what it takes.” (citations omitted).
