We were hired by a homeowners’ association in North Myrtle Beach to investigate significant drainage issues in their resort development. The developer and its engineering representative designed, developed, and constructed the development’s infrastructure and single-family homes. Many of the homes were constructed too close to a drainage buffer, which had no suitable access to allow for regular maintenance. As a result of the drainage buffer issues, the homeowners were faced with water flow and drainage problems. Some of the homes directly abutted a steep bank that was part of the drainage buffer and was suffering from vegetation overgrowth, erosion, and collapse. After construction, the developer transferred title of the common areas to the HOA without making any effort to ensure those common areas were in a suitable condition, and he retained title to the part of the development that would yield a profit. The HOA members paid significant sums to prevent additional damage, flooding, and erosion for which it was not responsible.
The homeowners had to use their own funds to construct seawalls, revetments, retention walls, and other erosion control devices to redirect water from their properties into the drainage buffer, which then caused more erosion and drainage issues. The severe ongoing drainage and flooding issues resulted in a diminution of value of the HOA’s property. With meticulous research, we hired the right expert to show the developer and engineer breached their duties of care by failing to deliver safe drainage outfalls and by building homes too close to the outfalls. We litigated the case for three years and, through hard work, were able to get the case resolved so our client could pay to properly repair the drainage system and the homeowners’ properties.
