Public Entity Appellate Victory in Roadway Flooding Case

On August 24, 2011, the California Court of Appeal found in favor of San Bernardino County in an inverse condemnation case based upon flooding caused by water run-off from a County road.  The plaintiffs' properties had been damaged during two separate storms, and the plaintiffs contended that an unimproved County road caused the damage in one storm, and K-rail placed by the County on an improved portion of the same road caused damage during the other storm.  In affirming the trial court's findings in favor of the County, the Court of Appeal confirmed the doctrines that a public entity cannot be liable for damages caused by unimproved public property, and that reasonableness factors, rather than strict liability, apply in determining public entity liability in inverse condemnation flooding cases.  Check out the entire opinion in Gutierrez v. County of San Bernardino, here.