Verdict looms in $11.3M lawsuit over flooding

A jury verdict in a Scottsdale business complex's $11.3 million lawsuit against the city and state transportation officials over flooding issues could come Wednesday.

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Bruce Washburn, assistant Scottsdale city attorney, said closing arguments in the case concluded this week.

"The case was submitted to the jury Thursday morning," Washburn said.

Scottsdale Perimeter 1, the investment group that owns about 16 acres of vacant property within the Perimeter Center office park, has accused Scottsdale of increasing floodwater runoff on the property, rendering the land unable to be developed.

The Perimeter Center is located between Union Hills and Princess drives on the west side of Loop 101,

The lawsuit, filed in 2004 in Maricopa County Superior Court, also alleges the Arizona Department of Transportation's construction of Loop 101 forced the flow of water into narrow channels, which gouged out new washes within the complex, precluding development on the land. HDR Engineering, the Nebraska-based company that prepared Loop 101 drainage and construction plans, is named in the suit, as well.

Steve Hirsch, lawyer for the investment group, said the jury is expected to reconvene on Wednesday, when a verdict could be announced.

"We'll be in limbo for a few days yet," Hirsch said.

Scottsdale denies responsibility for the flooding and contends that the Perimeter Center's claims are barred by statutes of limitation and because the city possesses sovereign immunity.

The origins of the dispute date back to 1989, when the city approved a master drainage report for the Perimeter Center site that relied on the proposed $100 million Desert Greenbelt drainage system and the construction of Loop 101 to divert storm water, according to the lawsuit. The current owners bought the property in 1999 with that drainage plan in mind.

The Desert Greenbelt proposal called for an 11-mile system of channels, retention basins and levies in north Scottsdale to handle storm water.

The greenbelt never was built, though. The City Council killed the project in 2000 in response to residents who objected that it was neither necessary nor aesthetically pleasing, but not before spending about $22 million on studies, designs and land acquisition over 10 years.

Perimeter Center lawyers have said the city's reversal on the Desert Greenbelt left the Perimeter Center with high floodwater volumes that had not been considered in the city-approved drainage report.

The lawsuit also alleges that in 2002, ADOT negligently built the segment of Loop 101 adjacent to the office complex without appropriate anti-flooding measures because of political pressure to finish the freeway. State officials installed culverts under Loop 101 which forced floodwater into narrow channels that spilled out onto the Perimeter Center's property instead of diverting the water elsewhere, according to the lawsuit.

The City Council in September voted to pay the law firm of Holloway, Odegard, Forrest & Kelly up to $150,000 to help defend the city.