La Fetra v. Richardson

WASTE, P. J.

Plaintiff claims that the defendants have greatly injured his orange orchard by wrongfully diverting thereon large quantities of storm water. He seeks an injunction, and prays for damages. Defendants had judgment and plaintiff appeals on the judgment-roll alone.

Plaintiff is the owner of an orange orchard on the southerly slope of the Sierra Madre Mountains. Just north of the land of plaintiff, and- separated therefrom by Ledora Avenue, are the lands of defendants. Located in these mountains is a deep ravine, known as Shorey-Canyon, which, with its many branches, constitutes the natural drainage-way of waters falling in said locality. In the year 1914 defendants constructed in this ravine, on their land, a concrete flume about five and one-half feet in width and about three and one-half feet in depth, with a fall of about ninety feet in a distance of 1,320 feet. Plaintiff "seeks to have this flume • declared a nuisance, and removed, and the ditch in which it is constructed filled to its natural level and grade.

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The complaint alleges that prior to the construction of the flume the waters falling from the slopes of the mountains, and naturally draining into Shorey Canyon, flowed therein down to a point of discharge on defendants’ land, and from thence spread out and were widely diffused over the surface of the ground, falling in no definite channels, in a southeasterly direction over the lands of the defendants and other lands, without in any wise injuring or damaging the lands of plaintiff; but that since the construction of the flume by the defendants, these storm waters have accumulated therein, and have been prevented thereby from becoming spread out, or diffused over the surface of the land, and from flowing, as they naturally would have done, without injuring or damaging the lands of plaintiff, but have been cast in a single volume, and in greatly increased quantities upon, and across, the lands of the plaintiff. It is further alleged that during the months of January and February, 1916, heavy rains fell generally in this locality, and great volumes of water flowed out of Shorey Canyon through the flume constructed by defendants, and were accumulated, and carried in a single volume, and diverted to, and across, the lands of the plaintiff, cutting a ravine therein to a depth varying from three to twelve feet, and to a width of ten to thirty feet; and carrying away large quantities of the land, uprooting and carrying away many of the orchard trees located thereon, leaving more than two acres of the land unfit for cultivation; and greatly injuring and damaging other portions of the orchard by depositing large quantities of rock and debris thereon.