Court Opinion

ID: 9657278
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 20:18:38.998544+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:13:42.786167
License: Public Domain

WUEST, Chief Justice
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
I concur in the majority opinion, except for the relocation issue. The trial court allowed plaintiffs to introduce evidence concerning the cost of moving their farm structures to higher ground in order to avoid future flood damage. The trial court also instructed the jury that plaintiffs could recover “reasonable” costs of relocation. I believe the trial court erred in doing so.
In order to recover the costs of relocation, plaintiffs had the burden of showing negligence on behalf of the state for future floods. The state admitted liability for the flood occurring on June 12, 1984. This flood was allegedly caused by the state’s awareness of the dam’s dangerous condition and its negligence in failing to correct it. This, however, does not mean that the state should be liable for future floods, unless it can be shown that it is negligent in causing them as well. Plaintiff’s farm was built on a flood plain. The evidence indicated that the creek flooded before the dam was built and that it is likely to overflow its banks again. Whether future flooding will be of such magnitude that plaintiffs must relocate is purely speculative. Because plaintiffs failed to establish negligence on the state’s part for any future floods, I fail to see how the state can be liable for the costs of relocation and would reverse on this issue.