Title: Graham v. Town of Duxbury

State: vermont

Issuer: Vermont Supreme Court

Document:

Graham v. Town of Duxbury (2000-063); 173 Vt. 498; 787 A.2d 1229

[Filed 05-Nov-2001]

                                 ENTRY ORDER

                      SUPREME COURT DOCKET NO. 2000-063

                               JUNE TERM, 2001

Alan and Emily Graham	               }	APPEALED FROM:
                                       }
                                       }
     v.	                               }	Washington Superior Court
                                       }	
Town of Duxbury	                       }
                                       }	DOCKET NO. 181-4-98 Wncv

                                                Trial Judge: Mary Miles Teachout 

             In the above-entitled cause, the Clerk will enter:

       Defendant Town of Duxbury appeals a superior court order finding the
  town negligent by  failing to repair damage to property owned by plaintiffs
  Alan and Emily Graham caused by excessive  water runoff.  The Town claims
  it was not negligent and is immune from liability under the common-law
  doctrine of sovereign immunity for municipal governmental actions.  We
  agree and reverse.

       The Grahams' property was once part of a larger parcel of land with
  steep slopes and shallow  soils owned by Clyde Morse.  When Morse
  subdivided the property in 1989, he designed and  constructed a road, now
  called Morse Road, which passes the Grahams' lot.  Morse Road rises in 
  elevation as it goes from East to West. (FN1)  To drain Morse Road and its
  surrounding area, Morse  constructed a ditch on the Southern side of the
  road leading to a culvert under the road.  The culvert  crosses Morse Road
  and emerges on its northern side on what is now the Grahams' lot, the
  second  highest lot on that side of Morse Road.  Several other lots exist
  further down the road from the  Grahams.  On the Grahams' lot, Morse built
  a rip rap-lined swale where the culvert emerged.  The  swale runs away from
  Morse Road down to an embankment with a steep 40% drop off to a stream at 
  the bottom.  The culvert and swale were intended to protect Morse Road from
  surface water runoff   by diverting it to the stream in the back of the
  Grahams' property.

       The design for Morse Road was reviewed and approved by the State of
  Vermont Agency of  Transportation.  The Town of Duxbury took over Morse
  Road as a Class 3 town road after Morse  obtained all necessary permits. 
  The Town has maintained the road, the culvert, and the ditch since  that
  time, but has never performed any maintenance on the swale located on the
  Grahams' lot.

       At the time the Grahams purchased their property, the swale was
  visible.  Also visible were the  gravelly and unstable soils on the rear of
  the property.  In fact, Morse had once used the property as a  gravel pit.

 

       The events in issue occurred on August 7, 1997 when there was a very
  heavy downpour that  washed out part of Morse Road.  The downpour also
  eroded away a large chunk of the bank on  plaintiffs' land where the water
  left the swale and plunged down to the stream.  It left a canyon-like 
  gully emanating from the swale.

       After discovering the erosion, Emily Graham contacted the chair of the
  Town's selectboard  who promised to inspect the problem and have the
  culvert cleared.  The Town cleared sand from the  culvert the next day,
  although it is not clear that the condition of the culvert caused the
  erosion on the  Grahams' property. (FN2)  The Town took no action to repair
  or revise the original drainage system  Morse had designed and constructed. 
  The Grahams then sought professional assistance to help  prevent further
  erosion on their property, as well as the threat of future erosion to
  neighboring  properties and to Morse Road, and eventually took action on
  their own, expending $14,289 to revise  the drainage system on their
  property.

       In April 1998, the Grahams filed a claim against the Town of Duxbury
  in Washington Superior  Court seeking to recover their expenditures to
  address the drainage problem, as well as other  unspecified damages.  After
  a bench trial, the court concluded that the Town was not negligent as of 
  August 7, 1997 because it had no notice prior to that date that the
  drainage system would cause  damage to private land during periods with
  strong surface water runoff.  The court noted that the  Town had no reason
  to know of any problems with the system's design because the system had
  state  approval and had worked as intended for years previously. 
  Nevertheless, the court concluded that  the Town was negligent by failing
  to take corrective action after the Grahams notified the Town of  the
  damage to their property.  The court rejected the Town's claims that it was
  immune from liability  under common law municipal or sovereign immunity,
  and that the Grahams failed to avail  themselves of a statutory remedy
  under 19 V.S.A. § 985, which the Town contends governs their  claim.  The
  court awarded the Grahams the erosion control expenses they incurred, plus
  interest.   The Town of Duxbury subsequently appealed.

       In its appeal, the Town presents three arguments to this Court: (1)
  sovereign immunity  completely bars the Grahams' claim; (2) even if
  sovereign immunity does not bar recovery, the Town  has no duty to pay for
  the repairs to the drainage system located on the Grahams' property; and
  (3) 19  V.S.A. § 985 was the Grahams' only avenue of relief, and they
  failed to avail themselves of it.   Because the Town challenges only the
  court's legal conclusions and not its factual findings, our  review is
  plenary and nondeferential.  Maciejko v. Lunenberg Fire Dist. No. 2, ____
  Vt. ____, ____,