| "{\"id\": \"11648076\", \"name\": \"JUDY BAILEY VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS; PAULINE LUCION VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS\", \"name_abbreviation\": \"Bailey v. Division of Highways\", \"decision_date\": \"1994-01-21\", \"docket_number\": \"CC-92-324; CC-92-335\", \"first_page\": \"55\", \"last_page\": \"57\", \"citations\": \"20 Ct. Cl. 55\", \"volume\": \"20\", \"reporter\": \"Report of the West Virginia Court of Claims\", \"court\": \"West Virginia Court of Claims\", \"jurisdiction\": \"West Virginia\", \"last_updated\": \"2021-08-10T23:44:04.286574+00:00\", \"provenance\": \"CAP\", \"judges\": \"\", \"parties\": \"JUDY BAILEY VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS PAULINE LUCION VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS\", \"head_matter\": \"OPINION ISSUED JANUARY 21, 1994\\nJUDY BAILEY VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS PAULINE LUCION VS. DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS\\n(CC-92-324)\\n(CC-92-335)\\nLacy A. Wright, Attorney at Law, for claimants.\\nGlen A. Murphy, Attorney at Law, for respondent.\", \"word_count\": \"630\", \"char_count\": \"3856\", \"text\": \"STEPTOE, JUDGE:\\nJudge Bailey and Pauline Lucion, who are sisters living in separate, side-by-side dwellings in McDowell County, filed separate claims against the respondent for real and personal property damages which they separately incurred as a result of two rock and earth slides which descended upon their respective homes on 21 July 1992 and 27 July 1992, from a nearby embankment above their homes, which supported West Virginia Secondary Route 7, in McDowell County, at the town of Hensley.\\nRespondent denied negligence on its part. The cases were consolidated for hearing, which took place on 5 August 1993.\\nIt appears from the evidence that the residence of each claimant had been constructed many years before the slides of July 1992; that the rear of each home was within a few feet of the foot of a steep highway embankment which rose as much as thirty feet from the level on which the residences rested; that the slides took place after a period of heavy rains; and that the embankment material which came to rest against the houses was largely mud and rock, the level of which eventually rose to about five feet against the Lucion house. Extensive damage was done to each house, in the case of the Bailey property caused by a tree which had been displaced and fell against her house.\\nIt further appears from the evidence that prior to 21 July 1992 complaints had been lodged with respondent about the surface water coming over the road and down the embankment and under the claimants' homes.\\nIf further appears from the evidence that the instability of the embankment immediately before the slide which caused the damage to claimant's homes was due to respondent's failure to prevent large quantities of surface water originating from the upper side of Route 7, from crossing the road and entering upon and permeating the embankment immediately above claimants' homes; that there was a ditch on the upper side of the road, but it was frequently obstructed and infrequently cleared by the respondent, so much so that one of the claimants herself took it upon herself, from time to time, to try to clear it. It may well be, moreover, that respondent's action in driving new guardrails into the embankment, several months before the slide, contributed to the instability of the embankment.\\nIn any event, respondent was on notice of instability of the embankment and failed to take effective measures to deal with the problem, and its failure to do so was negligence which proximately caused the damage to the claimants' homes.\\nDamages proximately caused by such negligence were:\\n1.) to Judy Bailey:.\\nElectrical work, materials and labor $3,700.00\\nFloor covering for dining room 500.00\\n19-inch Samsun TV set 166.00\\nNintendo set 129.00\\nAM-FM cassette 60.00\\nClock radio 29.95\\nClean-up expense 200.00\\ninconvenience and loss of use of home 1,000,00\\nTOTAL $5,784.95\\n2.) to Pauline Lucion:\\nFurnace re-work, repair of cracks in foundation, replacement of concrete sidewalk, vinyl siding,\\nroof over-hang and guttering and spouting $2,100.00\\nLabor employed by claimant 680.00\\nClean-up materials 50.00\\nGravel and lime 111.29\\nReplacement of Rainbow Cleaner 639.40\\nPaint 42.35\\nDamage to water softener 100.00\\nDamage to lawn mower 50.00\\nDamage to antique furniture 500.00\\nDamage to bicycle 60.00\\nLoss of Christmas ornaments 100.00\\nLoss of old clothing 100.00\\nLoss of books 100.00\\nLoss of building materials purchased in 1991 210.00\\nLoss of school supplies 100.00\\nInconvenience and loss of use of home 1,000.00\\nTOTAL $5,943.04.\\nAward to Judy Bailey in the amount of $5,784.95.\\nAward to Pauline Lucion in the amount of $5,943.04.\"}" |