Etheridge v. Dougherty County

Banke, Chief Judge.

Kathy and David Etheridge brought this suit against Dougherty County to recover for flooding damage to their home caused by the overflow of a county-maintained drainage ditch. A jury awarded the plaintiffs $3,000; however, the trial court granted the county’s subse*88quent motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict. The plaintiffs filed an appeal from this order, and the county filed a cross-appeal from the denial of its alternative motion for new trial.

The drainage ditch ran parallel to a county road passing in front of the house. It was dug in 1968, at the time the road…