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Russo Farms5/7/1996
(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).
RUSSO FARMS, INC., ET AL. V. VINELAND BOARD OF EDUCATION, ET AL. (A-75/76/77/78)
Argued January 17, 1996 -- Decided May 7, 1996
GARIBALDI, J., writing for a majority of the Court.
Russo Farms, Inc. and others (collectively, the Russos) assert that the Vineland Board of Education (the Board) the City of Vineland (the City), architect Glen A. Kahley (Kahley), and general contractor Art Anderson, Inc. (Anderson) are liable to them for damages to their crops and farmland from flooding that resulted from the improper siting and construction of a public school located across the street from their property and by an inadequate drainage system on a bordering street. The school was constructed in 1979 but the Russos did not file suit until 1990. The Russos were aware of general water erosion as early as 1980 and 1981. The Russos claim that by 1987, the flood waters had caused significant damage to the farmland, including soil erosion, soil-nutrient depletion, decreased crop production, and a diminution in property value. On August 24, 1987, Thomas Russo sent a letter to the Mayor of Vineland asking him to remedy the flooding problem. The Russos contend that this letter served as a notice of claim, a prerequisite to any suit against governmental entities under the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A.59:1-1 to -12-3, (the Act).
On June 11, 1990, the Russos filed an official notice of claim with the City and the Board. On July 18, 1990, the Russos filed a complaint against the City, the Board, Kahley, Anderson, Daniel Jacobs and Lippincott Engineering. The Russos asserted both tort claims and inverse condemnation claims against the City and the Board. They sought a preliminary injunction against the City and the Board to correct the drainage problem, as well as damages against Kahley. The Russos alleged negligent design and negligent construction of the school property. The Russos asserted negligence claims against Lippincott and Jacobs for their design and construction of the drainage system and asserted negligence claims against Anderson in respect of the construction of the school building.
On August 3, 1990, the trial court ordered the City to construct a detention basin on Grant Avenue between the Russos' property and the Board's property. The City complied, ending the water problem on Grant Avenue. In March 1991, the City sought an order compelling the Russos to remove the berm they had built along Southeast Avenue to prevent runoff from the road. The Russos counterclaimed, alleging that Southeast Avenue constituted a dangerous condition that caused additional flooding on the Russos' property. All claims have been consolidated.
In May 1991, Lippincott and Jacobs moved for, and were granted, summary judgment on the basis of the statute of repose, N.J.S.A.2A:14-1.1, which bars actions against architects and engineers that are filed ten years from the date of completion of the contract. The trial court denied Kahley's motion on the same basis, computing the date for final completion to be February 20, 1981, the date of the issuance of the final certificate for payment.
In April 1993, the trial court granted summary judgment as to all remaining defendants, including Kahley. Because the court deemed each claim to have arisen in 1980 or 1981 when the first injury to the Russos became apparent, the claims were barred by N.J.S.A.2A:14
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