Imperial Cattle Co. v. Imperial Irrigation District

Defendant Imperial Irrigation District (the District) appeals a judgment entered after a jury found it liable to plaintiff Imperial Cattle Company on theories of inverse condemnation and nuisance for approximately $192,000 in damages arising from the flooding of Imperial Cattle’s feedlot in 1976 and 1977. Except to the extent that the trial court improperly calculated the amount of prejudgment interest due on the damage award, we affirm.

Factual and Procedural Background

Imperial Cattle operates a cattle feedlot next to the northern edge of the City of Imperial. The feedlot is generally rectangular in shape, with the long sides of the rectangle running north-south. The property slopes to the north and east. The District maintains an easement along the eastern boundary of the feedlot which houses the Dolson Drain (Drain). The Drain is a water channel 8 to 10 feet deep, 30 feet wide at the top narrowing to 3 feet at the bottom. Water in the Drain flows south to north. The southern end of the Drain is located in a residential section of Imperial. Thereafter, the Drain continues north paralleling the elevated tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad which lie just east of…