Rose Mary Knick owned rural property containing a small family graveyard. Scott Township adopted an ordinance requiring cemeteries to remain open to the public during daylight hours and notified Knick that her property violated the ordinance. After the Township withdrew the notice, Knick’s state-court request for equitable relief was left unresolved. She then brought a federal action under Section 1983 alleging a taking under the Fifth Amendment. The Supreme Court overruled the state-litigation requirement from Williamson County and held that a property owner may bring a federal takings claim when the government takes property without compensation. The constitutional violation occurs at the taking, and the owner need not first seek compensation through state procedures. The Court explained that the prior rule could force a claimant into state court and then prevent later federal review through preclusion doctrine. The judgment was reversed and the case remanded. Justice Kagan, joined by three justices, dissented and defended the precedent and its treatment of takings remedies.