545 So. 2d 34 | Ala. | 1989
The trial court entered a summary judgment for the defendant, Birmingham Southern Railroad Company, on the plaintiffs' claim that Birmingham Southern had negligently maintained a culvert near the plaintiffs' homes and that, as a result, the plaintiffs' homes had been damaged by flood water. This appeal ensued.
Plaintiffs are all residents of the Hueytown area of western Jefferson County and they live near a point where the defendant maintains a railroad crossing and culvert. On December 2 and 3, 1983, this area of western Jefferson County experienced 9.26 inches of rainfall. In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that the defendant had negligently maintained the culvert and that the negligence had resulted in its becoming blocked with debris, thereby contributing to the flooding of their homes. They filed their suit prior to June 11, 1987; therefore, the "scintilla rule" applies. Ala. Code 1975, §
The plaintiffs in their reply brief have succinctly set out the issue upon which they must produce a scintilla of evidence: "The . . . issue . . . is whether the culvert was blocked with debris prior to the . . . flooding of the plaintiffs' homes."
Although our search of the record revealed only scant evidence of the culvert's blockage prior to the flood, we believe that at least a scintilla of evidence exists to support the plaintiffs' claim. "Because of the nature of negligence actions, with their questions of reasonableness, proximate causation, and foreseeability, summary judgment will not ordinarily be granted," Searight v. Cummings Trucking Co.,
For the reasons stated above, we must reverse the summary judgment and remand the cause.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
HORNSBY, C.J., and ALMON, ADAMS and STEAGALL, JJ., concur. *36