December 5, 2024. Partner Paul Groth won a full defense verdict for his client in a case tried in the Superior Court of DeKalb County this week. The case arose from collapsed retaining walls in the W. Shoal Creek Tributary in Decatur, Ga. The Plaintiff contended that a sanitary sewer lateral for the Defendant’s property that passes through the Plaintiff’s property and does not conform with DeKalb County Watershed Management drawings. The plaintiff further alleged that that sewer line was not maintained, allowing debris to collect and caused the retaining walls on the plaintiff’s property to collapse as well as property erosion, and progressive damage. Finally, Plaintiff contended that they could not repair their property because the location of the sewer lateral would be in the way. Plaintiff sought to recover alleged incurred damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees.
At trial, Plaintiff presented the testimony of a professional engineer, Elvin Aycock, PE who testified that long-term water backup caused by the sewer pipe could have saturated the retaining walls, which resulting in long-term deterioration and eventual wall collapse. He admitted his opinion was based on a single visit to the scene to look at the conditions which allowed him to conclude the pipe caused an unsteady state of flow because of the pipe being there.
Mr. Groth presented the testimony of engineer Nila Abubakar, P.E., who testified that the failure of the subject retaining wall was attributable to defective construction, deferred maintenance and the geometry of the stream bed and that the proximate cause of failure was not attributable to the aerial lateral servicing of the lateral. Further she noted that the original design of the wall was not satisfactory for the conditions of the creek embankment and the wall was not properly anchored. Finally she noted that there was extensive evidence of deferred maintenance on the Plaintiff’s property and the retaining wall.
During his closing, the plaintiff’s attorneys asked the jury to award total damages of approximately $108,000 including punitive damages and attorneys fees. In addition, the Plaintiff sought equitable relief demanding that the Defendant remove the sewer lateral. Mr. Groth argued that the sewer lateral did not cause the damage to the Plaintiff’s property and asked the jury to return a defense verdict. The jury deliberated for hour and a half and returned a defense verdict.
The Case is Buchanan 218 LLC v. Jodi Merriday, Superior Court of DeKalb County CAFN 2021CV4548.
Read more about Partner Paul Groth here.
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