Proper v. City of Independence

CAVE, Presiding Judge.

Plaintiffs sued the defendant for damages to their property resulting from the overflow of Rock Creek, a natural watercourse flowing east and west through said city. At the close of plaintiffs’ evidence, the court directed a verdict for the defendant, judgment entered accordingly, and plaintiffs appealed.

The plaintiffs are the respective owners of four parcels of real estate located on Hawthorne Avenue, a north-south street in Independence, near Twenty-second Street. At this point, Hawthorne is intersected by Rock Creek. Prior to September, 1953, this stream had not been…