RIDGEWATER ASSOCIATES LLC v. Dublin San Ramon Services District

Ridgewater Associates LLC (Ridgewater) appeals following a grant of summary adjudication in favor of the Dublin San Ramon Services District (District) on Ridgewater's claims for inverse condemnation and nuisance. The claims stem from water that Ridgewater contends seeps onto its property from a neighboring sewage treatment facility operated by the District. The superior court granted summary adjudication because Ridgewater lacked standing on its inverse condemnation claim and its nuisance claim was barred by statutory design immunity. In the published portion of this opinion, we hold that Ridgewater cannot prove damages on its inverse condemnation claim and in the unpublished portion of this opinion, we agree that its nuisance claim is barred by design immunity. Thus, we affirm.

In December 2006, Ridgewater purchased a warehouse on a one-acre property that is immediately adjacent to six facultative sludge lagoons (FSL's) that are owned and operated by the District. The warehouse was approximately six years old when the District built the first FSL in 1985. The last of the FSL's was built in 1999. The FSL's are used to treat sludge that emanates from the District's…