Caltrans District 5

Caltrans Caught, Shoveling Contaminated Storm Water and Debris into the Oceano Communities Storm Water Drainage system leading to the Pacific Ocean.

* Failure to act can trigger inverse condemnation liability.

A levee project failed during a heavy rainstorm, flooding plaintiffs' properties. Defendant counties' refusal to keep the channel clear, in clear violation of Army Corps of Engineers guidelines, caused the breach. Their inaction amounted to a deliberate policy because they had known about the flood hazard for over 20 years. Despite the danger, they allowed the channel to fill, in order to meet Fish and Game regulations. The court held for plaintiffs, explaining that, to support inverse condemnation liability, a plaintiff need only show that an "entity was aware of the risk posed by its public improvement and deliberately chose a course of action--or inaction--in the face of that known risk."

Arreola v. Monterey County (2002) __Cal.App.4th__ [2002 Cal. App. LEXIS 4319].

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Skoumbas
• v.
• City
• of
• Orinda
• (2008)
• 165
• Cal.App.4th
• 783.
• Arreola
• County
• Monterey(2002)
• 99
• 722.
• Inverse
• Condemnation
• Pacific
• Legal
• Foundation
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