Can my neighbor sure me for water draining into their yard after I had my yard graded?

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Can my neighbor sure me for water draining into their yard after I had my yard graded?

We built a new house a month ago. We noticed our backyard held some water so we had to professionally graded. They just evened out the yard flush with the house. Now my neighbor is complaining saying that we either need to A pay for her yard to get fixed or B she will file a lawsuit against us. Mind you that there is no structure or pile of dirt laid to force natural water to run into her yard, it was that our yard is now even. The yard she is complaining about backyard has not even been cut, even before we began to build, its nearly 4 foot tall.

Asked on July 12, 2017 under Real Estate Law, Indiana

Answers:

S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Your neighbor can sue you for nuisance which is the unreasonable interference with the use or enjoyment of her property.  It does not matter that the weeds in her yard are four feet tall.
A lawsuit for damages (monetary compensation) would not be an effective remedy because the water coming from your property is an ongoing problem which would result in multiple lawsuits and because land is unique.  Her remedy would be an injunction to have you stop the water from running off your property onto hers.


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