Mercury Cas. Co. v. City of Pasadena

*920 INTRODUCTION

In 2011, a storm brought hurricane-force winds to the City of Pasadena (City), uprooting more than 2,000 trees. One of those trees fell on the home of Sarah and Christopher Dusseault, causing severe property damage. Before it fell, the tree stood in a parkway that abuts the Dusseaults' property. Although the City owned the tree, there is no record of who planted it.

In 2012, Mercury Casualty Company (Mercury), the Dusseaults' insurer, sued the City for inverse condemnation. After a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment in Mercury's favor, finding the tree that fell on the Dusseaults' home was a work of public improvement that supported an inverse condemnation claim. The court awarded Mercury $800,000 in damages for insurance benefits paid to the Dusseaults, and an additional $329,170 in costs under Code of Civil Procedure section 1036.

On appeal, the City contends the court erred in finding it liable under a theory of inverse condemnation. We conclude the tree that fell on the Dusseaults' home does not constitute a work of public improvement for purposes of an inverse condemnation claim. Because the City could not be held inversely liable for the…