Allianz Global Risks U.S. Insurance Co. v. State

Summary

The New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed summary judgment for New Hampshire and Massachusetts in an inverse-condemnation action arising from flood damage to insured property. The court held that temporary flooding caused by a rare, non-recurring storm did not constitute a compensable taking of real property, and that destruction of personal property constituted consequential damage rather than a taking. The court did not decide whether New Hampshire recognizes inverse-condemnation claims for personal property.

Holdings

1. Although temporary takings may be compensable under New Hampshire law, the plaintiffs did not establish a taking because they offered no evidence that the flooding conditions were inevitably recurring; the rare 2006 storm therefore produced, at most, consequential injury rather than a taking.
2. The destruction of Henkel's personal property constituted consequential damage resulting from alleged government conduct, not a compensable taking.
3. Summary judgment for the defendants was proper, and the court did not need to address the plaintiffs' remaining arguments in light of its conclusion that no compensable taking occurred.

Questions Presented

1. Whether temporary flooding and loss of use of Henkel's real property constituted a compensable taking under New Hampshire inverse-condemnation law.
2. Whether destruction of Henkel's personal property constituted a compensable taking rather than consequential damage.
3. Whether genuine issues of material fact concerning causation and an act of God precluded summary judgment.

Disposition

affirmed