Manning v. City of Columbia

This is an action for breach of contract. The jury awarded respondent Manning $4,120,000 in damages. We affirm.

In 1967, Manning conveyed to the City of Columbia a 120-acre parcel of land on the Congaree River. City built a waste water treatment plant on the site. City’s parcel included a portion of a fifteen-mile system of levees along the river built by Manning prior to 1967. The deed to City included a covenant that City “maintain at its sole expense, in perpetuity, all existing dikes ... to the height at the time of this conveyance.”

On October 10, 1976, the City’s portion of the levee…