Municipality not liable for flood damages where plaintiff failed to give statutory notice of disrepair.
The plaintiff brought an action for damages against the municipality after heavy rainfall caused a municipal drain to overflow and flood his property.
The plaintiff alleged the municipality was negligent in maintaining the drain and in installing an undersized culvert.
The Drainage Referee dismissed the claim, finding the plaintiff failed to provide adequate written notice of disrepair as required by section 79 of the Drainage Act.
Furthermore, the Referee held the municipality was not negligent in construction, as the culvert met the two-year storm standard required for municipal drains, and the plaintiff failed to prove the storm's intensity.
The Referee ordered the municipality to prepare a preliminary drainage report to explore solutions to the flooding.
ODROntario Court of the Drainage RefereeDec 31, 1996
