What statute of limitation applies to a tort action for flood damage resulting from an adjacent landowner's regrading? Elvester v. North, 1999 WL 672687 (Minn. App. 1999) (unpublished). The Elvesters, in the City of Newport, suffered storm flows and ice buildup on their property. They brought a trespass action against owners of an adjacent property, alleging these injuries as the result of the adjacent owners' regrading and paving of their property. The district court dismissed the lawsuit as time barred under the Minnesota Statutes § 541.051 two-year statute of limitation for damage resulting from a "defective and unsafe condition." Examining several prior decisions of the Minnesota courts, the Court of Appeals determined that a condition is "defective and unsafe" if it results from an improvement's failure to operate in accordance with its design, but is not so characterized if the improvement functions in accordance with its design and the responsible party knew or should have known of the consequences that would follow. Evidence suggesting that the property owners consciously graded their property toward the Elvesters created an issue for trial and precluded summary judgment.
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