Fourth Department — Property Damage: National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. v. Erie County Water

Daily Record Staff//November 1, 2012//

Appellate Division, Fourth Department

Dangerous Condition

National Fuel Gas Distribution Corp. v. Erie County Water
Authority
CA 12-00084
Appealed from Supreme Court, Erie County

Background: The plaintiff commenced an action seeking damages resulting from a break in defendant’s water main, which caused water to infiltrate the plaintiff’s nearby gas line. The court found the defendant liable.

Ruling: The Appellate Division affirmed. The evidence presented at trial established that the subject water main had ruptured four times in nine years within the vicinity of the gas line. In addition, expert testimony established that the defendant ought to have replaced the water main after the previous breaks occurred. Finally, the defendant’s distribution engineer had testified that many had known about the prior incidents and that the water could infiltrate the nearby gas lines.

Thomas W. Bender of Bender & Bender for the defendant-appellant; Laura A. Linneball of Wilder & Linneball for the plaintiff-respondent

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