1987

Hampton Rds. Sanitation Dist. v. McDonnell

Supreme Court of Virginia

234 Va. 235, 360 S.E.2d 841

Landowner brought a tort action against City for damages caused by trespass. Landowner alleged that City’s Sanitation District had constructed a sewage pump station to allow wastewater overflow to be dumped directly on his land. Evidence was that during a ten-month period in 1981, a bypass valve discharged over two million gallons of raw sewage on the property. Landowner sought both compensatory and punitive damages for this trespass. Jury awarded $100,000 in compensatory damages and $30,000 in punitive damages. Trial court struck punitive damages and entered judgment on the $100,000. City appealed on basis of sovereign immunity, statute of limitations and sufficiency of evidence. Supreme Court affirmed. Landowner brought suit to recover compensation for damage to private property resulting from operation of a government facility for public uses and purposes. The City is not immune from landowner’s constitutionally mandated right to compensation. Article 1, § 11 of the Constitution of Virginia. The statute of limitations for injury to property is five years from when the cause of action accrued. Va. Code § 8.01-243(B). As each discharge was an injury, the statute had not run on every overflow event for the five years preceding the filing of the action. The evidence was sufficient to show the amount of damage attributable to the City.

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