Sorrells v. City of Macomb

2015 IL App (3d) 140763, 44 N.E.3d 453
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedOctober 23, 2015
Docket3-14-0763
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 2015 IL App (3d) 140763 (Sorrells v. City of Macomb) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sorrells v. City of Macomb, 2015 IL App (3d) 140763, 44 N.E.3d 453 (Ill. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

2015 IL App (3d) 140763

Opinion filed October 23, 2015 _____________________________________________________________________________

IN THE

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

THIRD DISTRICT

A.D., 2015

DUANE SORRELLS and ) Appeal from the Circuit Court MILDRED SORRELLS, ) of the 9th Judicial Circuit, ) McDonough County, Illinois. Plaintiffs-Appellants, ) ) v. ) ) Appeal No. 3-14-0763 CITY OF MACOMB, a Municipal ) Circuit No. 07-CH-38 Corporation, ) ) Defendant-Appellee ) ) (DK Linde Construction, Inc., ) The Honorable ) Rodney Clark, Defendant). ) Judge, presiding. _____________________________________________________________________________

JUSTICE CARTER delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Lytton and Schmidt concurred in the judgment and opinion. _____________________________________________________________________________

OPINION

¶1 Plaintiffs, Duane and Mildred Sorrells, filed a complaint against defendant, DK Linde

Construction, Inc., (DK Linde), for flooding that occurred on their property allegedly caused by

DK Linde developing the adjacent property. Plaintiffs amended the complaint to add a claim for

inverse condemnation against defendant, the City of Macomb (City), who owned the streets that

had been developed by DK Linde. The trial court granted the City's section 2-615 motion to dismiss the plaintiffs' inverse condemnation claim with prejudice. 735 ILCS 5/2-615 (West

2012). The plaintiffs appealed the dismissal of their inverse condemnation claim. We affirm the

trial court's judgment.

¶2 FACTS

¶3 I. Original Complaint Against DK Linde

¶4 On August 30, 2007, plaintiffs filed a one-count complaint for an injunction against DK

Linde, who was developing a residential complex adjacent to their property known as the Scotch

Pine Planned Unit Development (Scotch Pine). Plaintiffs alleged that non-percolating surface

water had naturally drained from defendant's property onto their property until 1997 when DK

Linde installed a detention basin that altered the natural flow of the surface water drainage.

Since the installation of the basin, DK Linde acquired additional property to develop Phase 2 of

Scotch Pine, which included a new and expanded detention basin and drain. The plaintiffs

alleged that DK Linde diverted the natural flow of water and caused an increased amount of

surface water to drain onto their property. Plaintiffs requested that DK Linde be enjoined from

unreasonably increasing the surface water that drained onto their land and that DK Linde be

ordered to install and maintain appropriate drainage facilities.

¶5 After DK Linde answered the complaint, plaintiffs filed a motion for partial summary

judgment with the affidavit of plaintiff, Duane Sorrells, attached thereto. Sorrells attested to the

allegations of the complaint and attested to the fact that defendant had moved the point at which

water discharged onto plaintiffs' land. In response, DK Linde filed the affidavit of the engineer

who had planned the development. The engineer attested that: (1) defendant did not

unreasonably divert water; (2) the rate of surface water flow onto plaintiffs' land would decrease;

(3) the discharge from Scotch Pine had not been relocated; (4) the development complied with

2 applicable engineering standards and the subdivision ordinance; and (5) the defendant's storm

water management plan did not alter the point of discharge.

¶6 II. Amended Complaint against DK Linde and the City

¶7 On March 15, 2012, with leave of court, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, alleging

two additional counts against DK Linde and two counts against the City. In count II against DK

Linde, the plaintiffs alleged that the construction of Phase 2 of Scotch Pine would unreasonably

discharge water onto their property that had not previously drained onto their property and the

drainage system, as designed, would create an unnatural channel on their property and cause an

increase of surface water that was diverted from other drainage basins to flow toward their land.

For count II, plaintiffs requested a permanent injunction against DK Linde. In count III against

DK Linde for negligence, plaintiffs realleged the allegations of count II and that defendant's

trespass and other conduct would damage their property. For count III, plaintiffs requested

money damages.

¶8 In count IV for inverse condemnation against the City, the plaintiffs alleged that DK

Linde was developing a residential complex adjacent to the their property called Phases 1 & 2 of

Scotch Pine, which included the installation of residential structures, streets, lawns, drainage

ways, and other improvements, with the streets having been dedicated to the City. Plaintiffs

alleged that the surface water from the streets and the development on Phase 1 was directed into

unnatural channels on their land and that the surface water from Phase 2 had not previously

drained naturally onto their land. Plaintiff claimed that the drainage design would cause water

from the development to unreasonably discharge from two storm water detention basins onto

their property where there had been no natural drainage, causing erosion, creating an unnatural

channel, and increasing the amount of surface water drainage.

3 ¶9 Plaintiffs further alleged that the City failed to follow applicable drainage standards,

engineering standards, and ordinances in approving the construction and design of Phases 1 and

2. Plaintiffs alleged that the unnatural and diverted drainage of surface water had and would in

the future result in a permanent, continuing, and substantial physical interference with the use

and enjoyment of their land, amounting to a taking of a drainage easement by the City for its

streets and public ways, which would continue in the future as further streets and public ways

were developed in Phase 2. Plaintiffs claimed that the taking was "by invasion by taking

drainage rights and by permanently taking [their] lands due to an increase in the water level of

plaintiffs' lake." Plaintiffs requested, inter alia, money damages for damage to their land not

taken and an order of mandamus requiring the City to initiate condemnation proceedings for the

portion of their property that had been taken. In count V, plaintiffs alleged negligence against

the City based on the City's alleged breach of duty to refrain from altering the natural flow of

water.

¶ 10 In response, the City filed a motion to dismiss counts IV and V pursuant to section 2-619

of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West 2012)). The City argued, inter alia,

that the plaintiffs' claim regarding Phase 1 should be dismissed pursuant to the applicable one

year statute of limitations. The City also argued that it was immune from liability under section

2-104 of the Local Governmental and Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act (Illinois Tort

Immunity Act) (745 ILCS 10/2-104 (West 2012)) (providing immunity to a local public entity

for issuing a permit, license, certificate, approval, or similar authorization), section 2-105 of the

Illinois Tort Immunity Act (745 ILCS 10/2-105

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Sorrells v. City of Macomb
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