Court hears arguments in WWII land dispute

[August 20, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- An attorney for hundreds of Kentucky families forced to sell their farms to the Army during World War II argued in federal court Tuesday that government agents bullied them into accepting bad deals in the panic after Pearl Harbor.

A government lawyer countered that the landowners were more than fairly compensated and have no right to additional payments even though the government later earned a windfall from coal, oil and gas resources found under the land.

The arguments came in an unusual, congressionally authorized dispute before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims over thousands of acres in eastern Kentucky that the Army seized during the war to build the Camp Breckenridge training facility.

In April, Judge Susan Braden recommended awarding the families $34.3 million -- roughly the profits the government made from selling the mineral rights to the land in the 1960s. Tuesday's arguments were at a review hearing before a three-judge panel that will decide whether the recommendation stands. Congress -- which asked the court take up the case -- must approve any recommendation for damages.

Roger Marzulla, a lawyer for the families, said owners were rushed to sell in a matter of weeks and had no opportunity to survey their land to explore mineral resources. He said many families didn't aggressively resist because they were assured they would be able to buy back their land after the war.

William Shapiro, a Justice Department lawyer representing the government, said the families can't produce anything aside from vague recollections and hearsay supporting their key claim that they were promised an option to repurchase.

"If that were true, wouldn't one expect at least one of the landowners to ask for something in writing," he said. "Wouldn't there be ... one piece of historical evidence supporting that allegation."

The landowners began the long-running case by suing the federal government in the 1960s.

Only one of the original owners is still alive, according to attorneys, but more than 1,000 heirs representing some 36,000 acres in Union, Webster and Henderson counties have been involved.

Many of the families have similar stories: Government agents arrived on their doorsteps in 1942 or early 1943 with notices that their property was being taken and they had a short time to get out. Many were farmers who sold furniture, equipment, winter supplies and livestock while scrambling to find a place to live.

[Associated Press; By BEN EVANS]

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