Ellard Contracting Co. v. United States

554 F. Supp. 98, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16708
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedDecember 14, 1982
DocketCiv. A. No. 82-G-0237-S
StatusPublished

This text of 554 F. Supp. 98 (Ellard Contracting Co. v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellard Contracting Co. v. United States, 554 F. Supp. 98, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16708 (N.D. Ala. 1982).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

GUIN, District Judge.

This is a negligence action in which plaintiff Ellard Contracting Company, Inc. (“Ellard”), asserts a claim against defendant United States of America (“United States”) under the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”), 28 U.S.C. § 1346, 2671 et seq.1 This cause is presently before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss ór for summary judgment or, in the alternative, to transfer to the Court of Claims, which was filed September 20, 1982. The court is addressing only the motion for summary judgment.

In its complaint, plaintiff alleges that it contracted with the Utilities Board of the City of Sylacauga (“Utilities Board”) to construct an earthen dam at the Tallaseehatchie Creek Watershed in Talladega County, Alabama. Prior to that agreement, plaintiff alleges, the Soil Conservation Service (“SCS”), an agency of the Department of Agriculture, contracted with the Utilities Board and agreed to provide the Utilities Board with engineering services, technical assistance, inspection and advice during the construction of the dam. Plaintiff further alleges that SCS negligently performed or failed to perform its contract with the Utilities Board, thereby causing numerous delays in the construction of the dam. Ellard contends that the delays caused by SCS’s negligence resulted in the dam being in a very vulnerable state when the Utilities Board and SCS ordered that construction be halted in December 1978. The Utilities Board or SCS, or both, then allegedly designed a temporary dike and spillway to protect the dam due to its vulnerable state, and ordered Ellard to construct the temporary structure in January 1979.

Plaintiff then alleges that the heavy rains which occurred in the spring of 1979 caused water to overtop the dam and wash away much of the structure. Substantial damage and repair expense were incurred by Ellard due to the water overtopping the partially completed earthen dam.

In response to the original complaint filed on February 1, 1982, defendant United States filed a motion to dismiss or in the alternative for summary judgment. The court responded by ordering Ellard, on April 27, 1982, to file an amended complaint, providing a more definite statement. [100]*100Plaintiff did so on May 26, 1982. Defendant then filed its second motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, for summary judgment. The court responded, on June 24, 1982, by again ordering plaintiff to file a more definite statement concerning the nature of the alleged damages and their relationship, if any, to the flooding. On July 27, 1982, Ellard filed its second amended complaint. Defendant then filed a motion to dismiss or, in the alternative, transfer to the Court of Claims. The court, in its order of August 16, 1982, ruled that plaintiffs second amended complaint failed to comply fully with its order of June 24, 1982, and the plaintiff was ordered “to fully and clearly comply with the order of June 24, 1982.” Ellard filed a third amended complaint on September 9, 1982. In response, defendant again filed, on September 20, 1982, a motion to dismiss or for summary judgment or, in the alternative, to transfer to the Court of Claims.

Plaintiffs third amended complaint contains five counts (numbered three through seven) which all state that SCS’s negligent performance or failure to perform its duties, which occurred prior to the water overtopping the dam, allowed the substantial damage to occur and made necessary very expensive repairs to the dam. The structure was actually damaged by the water overtopping or flooding the dam.

Defendant’s motion for summary judgment states three grounds in support of summary judgment in its favor: (1) Title 33 U.S.C. § 702c grants defendant immunity from any damages caused by floods or flooding; (2) plaintiff’s claims are barred by the misrepresentation exception to the FTCA; and (3) plaintiff’s claims are barred by the interference with contract exception to the FTCA. The court is of the opinion that all three grounds are well taken, and that defendant is due summary judgment as a matter of law.

The United States has been granted immunity from flood damages by 33 U.S.C. § 702c, which states in part:

No liability of any kind shall attach to or rest upon the United States for any damage from or by floods or flood waters at any place ....

33 U.S.C. § 702c (emphasis added). The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has stated:

The federal courts . .. have reached a consensus that the United States is protected from liability for damages caused by “floods or flood waters” in connection with flood control projects, even when the government’s own negligence has caused or aggravated the losses.

Florida East Coast Railway Company v. United States, 519 F.2d 1184, 1191 (5th Cir.1975). Numerous courts, as indicated above, have upheld this immunity. Parks v. United States, 370 F.2d 92 (2d Cir.1966); Burlison v. United States, 627 F.2d 119 (8th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 1030, 101 S.Ct. 1740, 68 L.Ed.2d 225 (1981); Stover v. United States, 332 F.2d 204 (9th Cir.1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 922, 85 S.Ct. 276, 13 L.Ed.2d 335 (1964); Callaway v. United States, 568 F.2d 684 (10th Cir.1978). The Fifth Circuit also stated, in Florida East Coast Railway, that:

In enacting section 702c Congress granted immunity to the United States in “the broadest and most emphatic language,” protecting it against “liability of any kind ... for any damage from or by floods or flood waters .... Congress did not limit this immunity to damage done directly by inundation, but provided for immunity also from damage resulting ‘from ... flood waters.’ ”

519 F.2d at 1192 (footnotes omitted).

Plaintiff’s allegations of damage all center around water overtopping the dam, thereby damaging it and causing plaintiff to make extensive and expensive repairs. This is exactly the type of damage the Fifth Circuit, in Florida East Coast Railway, declared the United States to be immune from, due to 33 U.S.C. § 702c, despite any prior negligence of the government which might have caused the flooding. Ellard argues that all the case law concerning § 702c has concerned completed flood control projects, and since the dam in this case had not been completed, § 702c does not apply to this flood damage. Plaintiff con[101]*101tends that the section is not meant to immunize the government for its negligence during the course of the construction of a flood control project. No authority was cited to support this contention, however, and the broad, inclusive language used by the court in

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Bluebook (online)
554 F. Supp. 98, 1982 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16708, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellard-contracting-co-v-united-states-alnd-1982.