ELR Citation: ELR 20192
No(s). A117960 (Cal. App. 1st Dist. Jul 31, 2008)

A California appellate court reversed a lower court decision dismissing property owners' suit seeking damages against a city for inverse condemnation, nuisance, and trespass stemming from erosion caused by a faulty storm drain. The trial court concluded the city could not be held liable for erosion caused by water discharged from a storm drain because there was no evidence the entire drainage system was a public improvement owned by the city or its predecessor-in-interest. But the critical inquiry is not whether the entire system was a public improvement, but rather whether the city acted reasonably in its maintenance and control over those portions of the drainage system it does own. Because there were triable issue of material fact, the lower court erred in dismissing the case on the city's motion for summary judgment.