Following a five-day jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, a jury returned a defense verdict in favor of DRC's client, International Paper Company, after a one hour deliberation. The case, John Navelski, et al. v. International Paper Company, was brought by a class of property owners who suffered flood damage following a massive storm.
The matter involved a retired dam on International Paper's property that helped regulate water flow into the Eleven Mile Creek. In 2014, a massive rainstorm hit the area dumping a historic 19.56 inches of rain in the area. This catastrophic event breached the dam and the water flooded into the Eleven Mile Creek.
The Plaintiffs claimed that their properties, situated along the Eleven Mile Creek, were flooded due to International Paper's failure to properly maintain the dam. The Defense was able to successfully show that not only were they not responsible for the flooding in the class area, but that it was located in a flood zone that had previously flooded during less significant weather events when the dam was not breached.
DRC worked with Gibson Dunn's Daniel Nelson, Joshua Robbins, Megan Kiernan and Jason Meltzer and provided assistance with trial strategy, jury selection, and demonstrative aids.