Hi all -- Our Louisville, CO, neighborhood experiences periodic basement flooding with strong correlation to the presence of water in a nearby ditch. Basement flooding occurred in 2005 causing extensive damage to several homes. A small claims court lawsuit resulted in a Nov 15 2007 ruling that Goodhue Ditch Company was negligent. The ditch company was ordered to pay damages, and also ordered to maintain the ditch in accordance with Colorado statute 7.42.108. Goodhue appealed in district court but lost the appeal. Goodhue subsequently maintained the ditch and no flooding occurred again until...

Late June 2010, several of us in the neighborhood again experienced basement flooding while the ditch was in use from mid June to early July. There was no damages this time. However, close visual inspection of the ditch leads us to believe that it is not being actively maintained in accordance with 7.42.108 and the 2007 court order.

So here's my dilemma: What steps can I (our neighborhood) take to force the company to comply with the existing court order? If it were, for example, a restraining order, we could just call the police and arrest the culprit. But in this case, the entity violating the order is a company, so I don't think the police are the right approach. If I'm wrong, let me know. Is this an issue for the D. A. to take up?

It doesn't seem right that the neighborhood should have to take further legal action, given that the ditch company has lost previous legal battles. Instead, the judiciary branch of the government should have some mechanism in place to deal with situations like this. I've been doing a lot of web searches and talking to a lot of people in order to find out how to proceed, but no one really seems to know what to do.

Thanks for any help.

You could try to file a petition of contempt. Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html and http://resources.lawinfo.com/en/index.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.

Hi Pmartz121,

This sounds like a case for the proper division of your Authority having Jurisdiction (your local Municipality).
Through them, their may be a petition you can go forward with, from the area residents who back up your complaint.

You've looked down the correct paths, but you have to do something before this becomes a common part of the community that everyone learns to deal with.

Remember this could also be the area residents being paranoid, from previous issues that have been dealt with. Leave it up to the correct Authority having Jurisdiction to decide whether things will be re-occurring or not. Perhaps a solution is for the area residents to sign a petition stating that annual inspections be done to maintain the ditch up-keeping, and that select residents take a walk-through or receive proper paper-work stating such action has been taken.
I do not live in the area, so it is hard for one to determine the exact action to take, but you're on the correct path. Keep-up the community leadership.

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Rashaad
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