Court told $482,242.51 award for dam-repair negligence will remain

Mark Lee, attorney for the respondent (Necker), told the court the trial judge awarded $482,242.51 for trespass and negligent repair related to a failed earthen dam and that that portion of the judgment "will stand regardless of whatever happens with the ditch work." He emphasized that the dam claim and the North Lot ditch claim are separate issues in the appeal.

Lee said the damage photographs showing upper and lower ponds filled with sediment relate to the dam failure, and he told the panel those damages were tied to negligent work attempting to repair the dam. Appellants' counsel did not contest the dam-repair award on the record during oral argument, according to respondent's presentation.

The panel asked factual questions about the photographs and whether sediment shown related to the dam failure or the ditch work, and counsel clarified the linkage during argument. No decision was announced from the bench at the oral-argument session.