‘Gut-wrenching’: Homeowner sues city of Concord, others over stormwater runoff

CONCORD, N.C. — A homeowner in Concord says runoff from a fairly new subdivision is causing major flooding in her yard.

Jaylene Moss says she was there first and she didn’t have any flooding problems until the Hunton Forest neighborhood was built a few years ago.

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“This was going to be my final home,” she told Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke. “This is where I want to spend the rest of my life. Feeding the deer, hanging out.”

But Moss says when it rains, water from Hunton Forest runs down into her yard and it looks like a river running through it.

“I pay taxes just like everybody else,” she said. “This is my home … I don’t want to leave. I want it fixed.”

She says it washed away parts of her fence and overpowered pipes under her yard, causing a big hole.

“I worked my whole life to get this house for my family and the fact that they were able to do this, it’s just gut-wrenching,” she said.

She’s suing the city of Concord and a handful of companies allegedly tied to the Hunton Forest project.

Her lawyer, Clint Morse, claims the developer needed a better plan to prevent runoff and that the city of Concord failed during the permitting process.

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“They should have been able to catch a lot of the issues that were going on up there. But then, in addition, they’ve got a stormwater easement here that they are not maintaining,” he said. “Prior to the development, there was no issue. There was no flooding.”

The defendants don’t have to file their answers to the complaint until next month. Stoogenke still reached out to them to see if any wanted to share their sides sooner. The city of Concord won’t comment on pending litigation. The lawyer for one of the other defendants wouldn’t either. The others didn’t respond in time for this report.

What to know about runoff:

If the runoff is from the road, it’s a question for the state or city, whichever maintains the road.

If it’s from houses ‘still under’ construction, ask your city or county if the developer is following the erosion control rules.

If the issue is with houses already built, it’s a private issue between citizens -- homeowner versus homeowner.

- Start by asking the homeowner responsible for the runoff to address the situation.

- As always, do that in writing.

- Maybe you even want to offer to pay for some of the measures to address the problem.

- If that doesn’t work, you can always talk to a lawyer to see if you have a winning case.

That doesn’t usually end for the person stuck with the runoff. In North Carolina, your neighbor isn’t usually liable unless he/she acted unreasonably. The law in South Carolina is similar, except that it looks at whether your neighbor “artificially” diverted water onto your property and other factors.

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