Another Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Over Fernley Flood
Class Action News
Three law firms have filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of victims of last weekend's Fernley flood - the second such complaint in two days.
In their suit filed Friday in Lyon County District Court in Yerington, the Reno firms of Maddox & Associates, Leverty & Associates and Dunlap & Laxalt are seeking unspecified damages from the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District.
The complaint came a day after Reno lawyer Robert Hagar filed a
suit in Washoe County District Court on behalf of Judy Kroshus, whose home was among hundreds flooded after a storm-swollen irrigation canal ruptured Jan. 5. That suit, which also seeks class-action status, names the irrigation district, local governments and homebuilders as defendants.
Both lawsuits allege that the irrigation district did not properly maintain the canal and failed to minimize damage once the breach occurred in the fast-growing town 30 miles east of Reno.
Ernie Schank, TCID president, said the district reacted as quickly as possible after learning about the rupture, which was reported at about 4:20 a.m.
"This will be a complex case," lawyer Cal Dunlap told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "A lot of this is unknown territory. It's not immediately clear which laws apply."
Judges will have to certify the lawsuits as class actions, meaning that the suits represent all plaintiffs affected by the flood.
"It's unusual for two class actions to be certified," said Jeffrey Stempel, a law professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. "Filing first is always an advantage."
Stempel maintained the irrigation district generally would be liable for flood damage.
"If you've penned up an animal and the animal escaped and hurt
someone, it's usually your responsibility," he said. "In this case, the district penned up water and it got away from them."
The irrigation district operates the canal under a contract with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns it.
Schank has said he realizes the district will be targeted by lawsuits, but was unsure whether it's liable for flood damage.
Betsy Rieke, area manager for the reclamation bureau, has said her agency thinks the district would be liable.
Rieke's agency continues to investigate the cause of the breach, which occurred after unusually heavy rain.
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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.