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The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that the city of Minneapolis does not need to reimburse insurance companies for a burst pipe-related flood event in 2013.
In October 2013, a burst water main flooded the Sexton Loft condominiums with three feet of water, causing severe damage to parts of the property. Two insurers stepped up to cover the claims of unit owners affected by the flood: Liberty Mutual, which covered the claims of two unit owners for $45,000; and American Family Insurance, which covered the claim of the condominium association for over $75,000.
At that time, Minneapolis also reimbursed uninsured condominium owners for flood damages their units sustained.
The two insurance companies went to court in April 2014, claiming that the city refused to reimburse them for flood claims they have paid for.
The state Court of Appeals finally made its decision on the case earlier this week, Star Tribune reported, in which it agreed with an earlier decision by the district court that the city was not liable for the claims. The court’s ruling said that Minneapolis does not have to reimburse the insurers, since the flooding was not “an intentional action that the government took to meet a public purpose.”
“We’re obviously pleased with the Court of Appeals’ affirmance of the dismissal of this suit,” commented Minneapolis City attorney Susan Segal. “The city is just not responsible for these damages.”
