Lyles

Plaintiffs Valera Lyles and William M. Lyles IV as trustee of the Valera W. Lyles Residence Trust (Trustee) sued defendants State of California (State) and County of Monterey (County) for inverse condemnation and nuisance. They sought to recover damages to residential property allegedly caused by an inadequate drainage system surrounding Highway 1 and Spindrift Road, which allowed flooding of the property during a rainstorm. The trial court granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment as to inverse condemnation based on the applicable three-year statute of limitations. However, it later allowed plaintiffs leave to file an amended complaint alleging nuisance. After plaintiffs filed a first amended complaint, defendants successfully demurred to the pleading based on the applicable three-year statute of limitations. On appeal from the judgment, plaintiffs contend that the discovery rule and other exceptions to the statutes of limitation delayed accrual of their causes of action. We disagree and affirm the judgment.

SCOPE OF REVIEW

The parties agree that an inverse condemnation claim seeking “to recover for physical damage to private property” is subject to a three-year…