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

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire affirmed summary judgment for the State of New Hampshire and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in an inverse condemnation action arising from flood damage to Henkel Corporation's property. The court held that the isolated, rare flooding event did not constitute a compensable taking of real property because inevitable recurrence was not shown, and that damage to personal property was consequential damage rather than a taking. The court did not reach the plaintiffs' remaining causation and act-of-God arguments.

Holdings

1. A temporary taking of real property may be compensable under New Hampshire law; governmental action that substantially interferes with or deprives a person of the use of property may constitute a taking even when the land itself is not permanently taken.
2. The plaintiffs' evidence did not establish an inverse condemnation taking of Henkel's real property because the flooding was not shown to be inevitably recurring and the relevant storms were rare events.
3. The destruction of Henkel's personal property constituted, at most, consequential damage from the alleged governmental conduct and was not compensable as a taking on the facts presented.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a temporary interference with the use of real property can constitute a compensable taking under New Hampshire law.
2. Whether the flooding of Henkel's property constituted a taking when the plaintiffs did not show that the flooding was inevitably recurring.
3. Whether the destruction of Henkel's personal property in the flooding constituted compensable inverse condemnation rather than consequential damage.
4. Whether summary judgment was proper despite the plaintiffs' arguments concerning causation, act of God, and the nature of the alleged taking.

Disposition

affirmed