Auburn Water District v. Insurance Co. of North America

WEATHERBEE, Justice.

On a summer evening in 1969 a break occurred in a twelve inch water main of the Plaintiff, a quasi-municipal corporation, on Court Street in Auburn. The main had been laid in 1882, was 5]/2 feet underground at this point, and was subject to a pressure of 85 to 90 pounds per square inch. The cause of the pipe’s bursting was not known. The Plaintiff’s workmen quickly shut off the flow of water in the main and had repaired the pipe by early morning.

A major reconstruction of Court Street by the City of Auburn was in progress at the time of the break, and substantial damage was…