Opinion ID: 1745503
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the Plaintiff Presented Sufficient Evidence to Prove Water Damage from Sewer or Drain Backup.

Text: ¶ 20. USF & G argues that Martin did not present sufficient evidence to prove that the water damage resulted from sewer or drain backup. However, the record reveals that there was testimony that the Gallery smelled like it had been damaged from sewer backup. Martin testified that when she first went to investigate the damage on April 7, 2003, she noticed that there was an odor in the Gallery and that the water was dirty. Martin testified that on April 8, 2003, when Hewitt, the USF & G claim specialist, came, there was still an odor in the Gallery. She testified that [i]t just smelled awful. It smelled like when someone goes to the bathroom and they don't flush the toilet and it's just been sitting there. ¶ 21. Cartmell testified about his observations of the water in the Gallery: It was just brown and foul, foul smelling, foul looking.... It had an odor of sewage, raw sewage. Cartmell also stated that on April 8, 2003, the carpet was still wet and still smelled, and that the odor of foul urine and sewage got worse over the next few days. He testified that he and Martin had to replace the carpet in the Gallery. ¶ 22. Gardner, the carpet cleaner, testified that on April 8, 2003, there was a strong odor in the Gallery, which he found unusual because it was not normal for carpet to smell the day after a carpet cleaning. Gardner also testified that he used a blacklight to examine the damage to the carpet in the Gallery and the blacklight indicated that bacteria were present wherever the water had been. He testified that the presence of bacteria is consistent with the presence of sewage. Gardner also testified that the streets outside the Gallery were flooded on April 7, 2003. ¶ 23. Martin's expert witness, Monty Jackson, Director of Public Works for Meridian, testified that there may have been flooding on April 7, 2003, but there was also sewer and drain backup. Jackson testified that the sewer system was either overloaded or stopped up. He testified that water was coming out of some drains due to the topography of the area in which the Gallery was located and the difference in pressure on the drain pipes for storm water and sanitation water. Jackson testified that this was considered sewer and drain backup. ¶ 24. Hewitt, however, testified that he did not smell an odor of sewage when he investigated Martin's claim on April 8, 2003. He also testified that he did not find any evidence of sewer or drain backup in the Gallery. ¶ 25. There was no direct evidence regarding the source of the water that damaged the Gallery. Martin and Jackson both testified that they did not know for certain whether the water in the Gallery had gone through the sewer or drain system. Martin stated that she did not know anyone who saw raw sewage going into the Gallery. Gardner also stated that he did not know the source of the water. ¶ 26. USF & G's motion for JNOV argued that Martin did not present sufficient evidence regarding sewer or drain backup because 1) Martin's expert witness, Jackson, testified that the rainfall in question qualified as a 100-year rain event, and 2) there was no testimony that any of Martin's witnesses knew that the water that caused the damage had backed up through a sewer or drain. ¶ 27. After a de novo review of the record regarding evidence of damage from sewer or drain backup, we are of the opinion that the trial court properly denied USF & G's motion for JNOV on this ground. The record reveals that there was substantial evidence on the issue of sewer or drain backup such that a reasonable jury could have reached different conclusions. See, e.g., Adcock, 981 So.2d at 948. Since there was contradictory testimony regarding the cause or causes of the damage to the Gallery, reasonable and impartial jurors could have disagreed about whether or not there had been sewer or drain damage-in conjunction with flood damage or not. See, e.g., id. at 948-49 (citation omitted). Martin, Cartmell, and Gardner testified that there was an odor of sewage in the Gallery. Jackson testified that he believed there had been drain and sewage backup on April 7, 2003. Neither side could provide direct evidence of the cause or causes of the damage. The evidence was not so indisputable, or so deficient that there was no need for a jury to determine whether sewer or drain backup caused the damage. White, 932 So.2d at 32. ¶ 28. Taking the facts in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and drawing all reasonable, favorable inferences from the evidence, we find that there was legally sufficient, substantial evidence such that reasonable jurors could have reached different conclusions as to the cause of the damage to Martin's gallery. See, e.g., Spotlite Skating Rink, Inc., 988 So.2d at 368. Thus, the JNOV was properly denied as to legal sufficiency of the evidence of sewer or drain backup.