Bodin v. City of Stanwood

In 1990, record rainstorms caused severe flooding of the Stillaguamish River basin. The flood waters entered a sewage lagoon owned and operated by the City of Stanwood. Sewage spilled over the lagoon dikes and onto adjacent property. The appellants, adjacent property owners, sued Stanwood for negligence, nuisance, and inverse condemnation. The court dismissed the inverse condemnation claim and the jury returned a verdict in favor of Stanwood on the negligence and nuisance claims. We are to decide whether Stanwood’s procurement of federal grants to improve the lagoon and its dikes is…