Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. v. Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Illinois Farmers Insurance Co. and Farmers Insurance Exchange and their subsidiaries and related entities (Farmers Insurance) sued the water reclamation district for greater Chicago, Cook County, the City of Chicago and numerous other cities, towns, and villages in Illinois in a class action alleging that the municipalities’ failures to implement reasonable stormwater management practices and increase stormwater capacity resulted in increased payouts to the plaintiffs’ insureds after heavy rains in April 2013. The rains resulted in sewer water flooding the insureds’ properties. Plaintiffs alleged that the rainfall was within the anticipated 100-year rainfall return frequency—or, alternatively, that it was within the climate change-adjusted 100-year rainfall return frequency predicted by the 2008 Chicago Climate Action Plan. They asserted claims of negligent maintenance liability, failure to remedy known dangerous conditions, and takings without just compensation.