Court Opinion

ID: 9852475
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 05:30:59.047624+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:22:28.414845
License: Public Domain

COLER, Justice
(concurring specially).
While the material facts are set forth in 211 N.W.2d 846, the question of law raised by those facts and the pleadings must necessarily be stated by the trial court for a meaningful decision by this court on appeal.
Plaintiff has alleged, and therefore acknowledged, that the damage to his property essentially occurred by reason of “cloudbursts causing heavy and rapid rainfall”. He further alleged that such cloudbursts are to be expected and that the defendants knew or should have known that the surface water, under the circumstances of a cloudburst, would come upon the sidewalk. This would imply that the city has a duty to maintain an impervious sidewalk, an untenable position in view of our decision in Deschner v. City of Ipswich, 1932, 59 S.D. 456, 240 N.W. 487. If the trial court relied on defensive pleadings, I feel the court erred. The answer of defendant city claiming contributory negligence of the plaintiff in building under the sidewalk seems adequately answered in the negative by the decision of this court in Dell Rapids Mercantile Co. v. City of Dell Rapids, 1898, 11 S.D. 116, 75 N.W. 898, 74 Am.St.Rep. 783.
As to the application of the sovereign immunity doctrine raised by the pleadings, in., relevant cases cities have been either retained in a lawsuit for purposes of determining their negligence, or judgments against them have been affirmed in cases wherein the city played an active part in the construction of the street by way of change of grade or have been negligent in the construction of water mains, sewer lines or compacting of materials for those purposes, resulting in flooding damage to private property.
“For damages resulting from flooding of private property the proximate cause of which is its negligence in the *120construction or operation of its sewer or water utilities, a municipal corporation is liable; it is not an insurer and liable for such damages in the absence of legal fault on its part.” Rikansrud v. City of Canton, 1962, 79 S.D. 592, 598, 116 N.W.2d 234, 237.
Absent some negligent act the city would be entitled to a summary judgment under the plain language of Deschner v. City of Ipswich, 1932, 59 S.D. 456, 240 N.W. 487.
If, as the pleadings and record in this case reflect, the only participation of the city was in adopting an ordinance at the behest of civic groups to permit tree planting where obviously an existing ordinance prohibited such acts, such passive action does not, in my opinion, constitute negligence. Perhaps some negligent act can be established and plaintiff should not be foreclosed from that opportunity, ...
The plaintiffs do not allege negligent design or construction as it relates to street grade, crown, width or depth of curb and gutter to accommodate normal rainfall or runoff, Habicht v. City of Wessington Springs, 1922, 46 S.D. 176, 191 N.W. 455; or to cause an obstruction to drainage so as to impound large quantities of water on plaintiff’s property, Otelle v. City of Sioux Falls, 1928, 53 S.D. 160, 220 N.W. 472. Municipal corporations are authorized 'to construct storm sewers. SDCL 9-48-1(5), 9-48-2. There is no requirement that they do so. It is discretionary, Nelson v. City of Sioux Falls, 1940, 67 S.D. 320, 292 N.W. 868.
The most significant defense raised relates to the claim that an act of God was the proximate cause of the damages. '
“An act of God has been defined as ‘any accident, due directly and exclusively to natural causes without human intervention, which by no amount of foresight, pains, or care, reasonably to have been expected, could have been prevented’,
“An act of God must be the sole proximate cause of damages without concurrent negligent participation of the defendant before the defendant is entitled to a verdict. The defendant has the burden of proving such al*121leged defense by a preponderance of the evidence.” N.W. Bell Tele. v. Henry Carlson Co., 1969, 83 S.D. 664, 165 N.W.2d 346.
Our court, quoting with approval from National Weeklies, Inc. v. Jensen, 183 Minn. 150, 235 N.W. 905, stated:
“ ‘If the damage done was solely the result of an act of God, the city was not liable. If the negligence of the city proximately contributing and an act of God combined to produce the result, the city is liable.’ ” N.W. Bell Tele. v. Henry Carlson Co., supra.
To the same effect is our holding in Smith v. City of Yankton, 1909, 23 S.D. 352, 121 N.W. 848. The admission of the plaintiff that an act of God contributed does not then exonerate the city unless the city meets its burden of proof. For illustrations of cases dealing with negligence of a city and proximate cause see Shann v. City of Rapid City, 1948, 72 S.D. 418, 35 N.W.2d 399; and Haley & Lang Co. v. City of Huron, 1915, 36 S.D. 6, 153 N.W. 891.