Woolis v. Verdigris River Drainage District

Citations

• 116 Kan. 96
• 226 P. 244

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Drainage Water — Ditch Cut By County Commissioners — Lands Overflowed —County Mere Agency of State — County Immune From Liability for Damages. Rule followed that in the absence of some statute imposing liability, a county, being a mere agency of the state, is not liable in damages sustained by private parties through the alleged negligence of its board of county commissioners.</p> <p>2. Same — No Statute Awarding Damages Against the County for Negligence of Its Officers. For the purpose of draining a county road the board of county commissioners cut an artificial embankment reared by a drainage district as a means of flood protection. The county board installed in the embankment a floodgate designed to let the drainage water flow into the river but to prevent the river water from backing on to the adjacent land. The floodgate was either defective or got out of repair, whereby the plaintiffs’ lands were flooded by high water from the river and their crops destroyed. Held, there being no statute awarding damages against the county for the negligence of its officers the county is not liable for the loss and damage sustained by the plaintiffs.</p>