Marin Municipal Water District v. City of Mill Valley

A jury found against appellant City of Mill Valley and for respondent Marin Municipal Water District in an inverse condemnation action. The city appeals, contending that public property cannot be taken for purposes of inverse condemnation and that the district’s franchise is not a compensable property interest. We affirm the judgment.

I. Facts

On December 9, 1983, Hillside Avenue in Mill Valley collapsed and slid onto two parcels owned by John T. Swayne. He filed an inverse condemnation action against respondent Marin Municipal Water District, alleging that the landslide was caused by its failure to properly maintain its water pipes. Later, he amended his complaint to add a similar cause of action against appellant City of Mill Valley, alleging that the slide was caused by its failure to maintain the roadway over the district’s pipes. The district and the city settled with Swayne, each paying him $16,566.50, and Swayne dismissed his action. The city and the district cross-complained against one another, each seeking indemnification for its half of the settlement payment and seeking damages for its own loss resulting from the landslide. The parties stipulated the…