CHARLESTON — Two lawsuits were filed against Boyd Company and Fast Cast alleging the companies altered the natural flow of water and caused property damage to their homes.
Ron Cooper and Mary Hicks own property in Diamond that is adjacent to property owned by Boyd, according to two complaints filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Cooper and Hicks claim that Boyd leases the real estate to Fast Cast, also known as Rumble, and in 2004, Boyd increased the elevation of the property, which created a downflow of water from its property into a valley that is next to the plaintiffs' properties.
Improvements were later made to Boyd's property, which further increased the water flow onto the plaintiffs' properties, according to the suits.
Cooper and Hicks claim they didn't have drainage problems until last year, when the culvert became blocked and was not draining properly. When that happened, the water encroached onto their properties, but it wasn't until later that year that it flooded their homes and caused property damage.
"As a direct and proximate result of the Defendants failure to properly maintain this culvert, Plaintiff incurred damages..." one of the complaints states.
The plaintiffs claim the defendants were negligent in failing to properly inspect, maintain and repair the culvert, caused a nuisance and breached their duty to ensure work projects did not alter the natural flow of water.
The plaintiffs claim they informed the defendants several times of the culvert issue and the defendants failed and refused to inspect, maintain or repair the culvert.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by Michael L. Del Giudice of Ciccarello, Del Giudice & LaFon in Charleston.
The cases were assigned to Circuit Judge Maryclaire Akers and Kenneth David Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 21-C-248, 21-C-249
