Wilma Jean Kellogg v. City of Albia, Iowa, 908 N.W.2d 822

In 1972 Albia built a storm sewer sized to a two-year recurrence interval and designed under then-applicable engineering standards; the pipe day-lighted near the parcel where a house was later built.
Kellogg bought the house in 2008; the basement experienced repeated flooding after heavy rains between 2009–2015, causing mold and property damage.
Kellogg notified the City multiple times (2010, 2012–2014); the City investigated but took no remedial action.
Kellogg sued the City (2015), alleging nuisance and negligent design; the City moved for summary judgment asserting state-of-the-art municipal immunity (Iowa Code § 670.4(1)(h)) and a two-year statute of limitations.
The district court granted summary judgment for the City (finding the sewer was built to accepted standards and immunity applied); the court of appeals reversed; the Iowa Supreme Court granted further review.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Iowa Code § 670.4(1)(h) (state-of-the-art immunity) bars a private-nuisance claim arising from flooding caused by a public storm sewer	Kellogg: nuisance is a distinct tort (a condition-based claim) and a "pure" nuisance need not rely on negligent design, so immunity for negligent design/construction should not bar her nuisance claim	City: immunity covers claims "based upon or arising out of" negligent design/construction or failure to upgrade; Kellogg's nuisance arises from the sewer built under those standards, so immunity applies	Held: Immunity applies when the nuisance claim is based on conduct immunized by § 670.4(1)(h); here undisputed evidence showed the sewer was designed/constructed to then-applicable standards and Kellogg offered no evidence of non-immunized conduct or inherent-danger in the facility itself, so summary judgment for the City affirmed
Whether Kellogg's claim is timely under the two-year statute of limitations (Iowa Code § 670.5)	Kellogg: each flooding event restarts limitations so later floods within two years are actionable	City: limitations began after the first 2009 flood so later incidents do not revive the period	Held: Court did not decide the limitations issue because Kellogg's nuisance claim failed on immunity grounds

Sanon v. City of Pella, 865 N.W.2d 506 (Iowa 2015) (standard of review for summary judgment in municipal-tort context)
Thomas v. Gavin, 838 N.W.2d 518 (Iowa 2013) (summary judgment standard)
Hansen v. City of Audubon, 378 N.W.2d 903 (Iowa 1985) (scope and purpose of state-of-the-art immunity; maintenance/operation claims may remain viable)
Connolly v. Dallas County, 465 N.W.2d 875 (Iowa 1991) (measure municipal duty by standards existing at time of construction)
Cubit v. Mahaska County, 677 N.W.2d 777 (Iowa 2004) (interpretation of "based upon or arising out of" language; causal connection test)
Martins v. Interstate Power Co., 652 N.W.2d 657 (Iowa 2002) (pure nuisance requires an inherent danger in the thing itself)
Guzman v. Des Moines Hotel Partners, Ltd. P’ship, 489 N.W.2d 7 (Iowa 1992) (discussion of nuisance as injury/condition distinct from negligence)
Freeman v. Grain Processing Corp., 895 N.W.2d 105 (Iowa 2017) (definition and scope of private nuisance)
Bormann v. Bd. of Supervisors, 584 N.W.2d 309 (Iowa 1998) (distinguishing nuisance as liability-producing condition from negligence)
Hall v. Town of Keota, 79 N.W.2d 784 (Iowa 1956) (nuisance vs negligence analysis; nuisance must be inherently dangerous to proceed as separate claim)