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Keywords

plaintiffdefendantdamagesnegligencesummary judgment

Related Cases

Ecker v. E & A Consulting Group, Inc., 302 Neb. 578, 924 N.W.2d 671

Facts

Tom Ecker, Ruth Ecker, Jim Sledge, and Rosemary Sledge, homeowners in La Vista, Nebraska, experienced flooding in their homes after a significant rainstorm. They alleged negligence against E & A Consulting Group, the Sanitary Improvement District No. 237, and the City of La Vista, claiming that the drainage solutions designed for a 100-year storm were inadequate. A drainage study had recommended the construction of a berm to prevent flooding, but the berm was built with low spots, and the storm that occurred exceeded the anticipated rainfall for a 100-year event.

The homeowners are neighbors residing in the Cimarron Woods area of La Vista. Their homes are adjacent to each other, feature walkout basements, and have backyards abutting Applewood Creek. A 2010 drainage study completed by E&A found that several Cimarron Woods homes would flood during a less-than-100-year flood event.

Issue

Did the district court err in granting summary judgment in favor of the defendants, and was the flooding caused by a breach of duty or by a storm larger than a 100-year event?

Rule

In a negligence action, a plaintiff must establish the defendant's duty to protect from injury, a failure to discharge that duty, and damages proximately caused by that failure. The proximate cause of an injury is that which produces the injury in a natural and continuous sequence, without any efficient intervening cause.

In order to prevail in a negligence action, a plaintiff must establish the defendant's duty to protect the plaintiff from injury, a failure to discharge that duty, and damages proximately caused by the failure to discharge that duty.

Analysis

The court found that the homeowners could not establish that any breach of duty by the defendants was the proximate cause of the flooding. The evidence showed that the storm exceeded a 100-year event, and even if the berm had been built to the recommended specifications, the magnitude of the storm would have still caused flooding. The court emphasized that the proximate cause of the damages was the storm itself, not any alleged negligence in the design or construction of the drainage system.

Because the uncontroverted evidence showed that regardless of any breach of duty by E&A or SID No. 237, the proximate cause of the homeowners’ damages was the magnitude of the storm.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's decision, concluding that the flooding was caused by a storm larger than a 100-year event, and not by any breach of duty by the defendants.

The district court did not err in granting summary judgment in favor of E&A, SID No. 237, or the City.

Who won?

E & A Consulting Group, Sanitary Improvement District No. 237, and the City of La Vista prevailed because the court determined that the flooding was caused by a storm larger than a 100-year event, not by any negligence on their part.

The Supreme Court, Heavican, C.J., held that: … the proximate cause of any damage was storm that was larger than a 100-year storm, and not any breach of duty.

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