Flood Water Flows Over a State Road, Severely Damaging a Home
After road improvements by the California Department of Transportation led to severe flood damage to a client's house, initial court rulings favored the State's denial of liability. However, an appeal proved the alterations disrupted natural drainage, resulting in compensation for the full repair costs, attorney's fees, and costs to the homeowner.
The Situation
Some years before, the California Department of Transportation, when making road improvements along a costal road, cut through a low hill to flatten the road.
Following a period of unusually heavy rain, a culvert passing under the road overflowed causing a large amount of water to flow onto and along the road. The water, following the road, flowed down the road, through the cut in the hill, and literally through out client's house, into the ocean behind it, severally damaging the house. Our client called us.
Responding to our demand that the State pay the cost of repairing the client's house, the State claimed that the damages were caused by flooding unrelated to the State's road improvements and therefore, the State was not liable for the damage.
The Result
The trial court agreed with the State. Following our appeal, the Appellant Court disagreed and concluded that the State's road improvements had altered the natural drainage in the area, allowing the flood water to flow along the road onto the owner's property where prior to the road improvements, no water had previously flowed, and awarded our client the full cost to repair her property, along with her attorneys fees and costs.