Willienard Banks v. Charter Twp. of Bloomfield, Mich.

── Willienard Banks v. Charter Twp. of Bloomfield, Mich. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: April 28, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0193n.06 Case No. 25-1833 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Apr 28, 2026 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk WILLIENARD BANKS, Trustee of the Willienard Banks Living Revocable Trust; ) AARON P. JACKSON, ) Plaintiff-Appellants, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR v. ) THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ) MICHIGAN CHARTER TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD, ) MICHIGAN; OAKLAND COUNTY ROAD ) OPINION COMMISSION; OLIVIA OLSZTRY- ) BUDRY; DENNIS KOLAR; RICK ) SAPORSKY; GARY PIOTROWICZ; DANI ) WALSH, ) Defendant-Appellees. ) Before: SUTTON, Chief Judge; DAVIS and RITZ, Circuit Judges. SUTTON, Chief Judge. Willienard Banks and Aaron Jackson own property in Chestnut Run, a residential subdivision located in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. In 2021, their properties began to flood intermittently due to broken pipes in a drain easement running beneath their land. Hoping not to pay for the costs of repairing the drain themselves, Banks and Jackson sued their town, the local road commission, and various officials, claiming their actions (and inactions) violated the federal and state takings clauses as well as other guarantees. The district court dismissed their complaint for failure to state a claim. We affirm. No. 25-1833, Banks et al. v. Twp. of Bloomfield et al. I. Banks and Jackson bought adjacent lots in Chestnut Run Subdivision, owned and privately developed by Chestnut Run LP. The lots are located in Bloomfield Township, which is part of Oakland County. They both abut Bloomfield’s Orange Lake and sit halfway within its floodplain. In 2021, both properties began to flood intermittently. Their yards grew soggy, and stagnant water brought unpleasant odors. Banks and Jackson blame the local government for these problems. They allege that a 2019 road improvement project within the subdivision caused more water to enter a drain running beneath their properties. The drain takes runoff from sewers at the front of their properties to the water’s edge of Orange Lake. Making matters worse, Banks and Jackson claim, the drain no longer works the way it should. Their expert found that “sediment should be cleaned out of the [drain] and the pipe should be . . . inspected and repaired.” R.48-2 at 7. In filing this lawsuit, Banks and Jackson claim that the local government is responsible for the problem and should repair the drain. They sued Bloomfield Township, the Oakland County Road Commission, and various county officials under § 1983, raising federal and state takings claims and an assortment of other federal claims. The defendants moved to dismiss the action under Civil Rule 12(b)(6). The court granted the motion. II. We review the district court’s Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal with fresh eyes. Chen v. Hillsdale Coll., 150 F.4th 735, 741 (6th Cir. 2025). To survive a motion to dismiss, the complaint “must allege sufficient facts to support a plausible theory of relief” on each of their claims. Id. at