Water Damage Caused by Neighbor

[kbdonovan]

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Indiana
We recently bought a house a couple of months ago. We got our first rain to find out that our yard completely floods due to our neighbor. Our neighbor down the road is pumping water from his basement into the alley. The water is coming down the alley and into my yard, causing damage. The water is also damaging the neighbors property as well. The water is not coming from run-off due to the rain, it is coming directly from the neighbor sump pump drain, even several days after a rain fall. We have contacted our town council and they said that there is nothing that they can do because the neighbor is "NOT INTENTIONALLY" causing the damage. But the damage is a direct result of the neighbor pumping water from his basement into the alley.

What can we do? Do we have a legal right to take him to court and make him stop draining the water into the alley?

The water is causing damage to our foundation, crawl space, and lawn.

[seniorjudge]

Q: Do we have a legal right to take him to court and make him stop draining the water into the alley?

A: Yes. Anyone may sue anybody at any time for anything anywhere. There is no guarantee that you will win. And if you win, there is no guarantee that it will change anything.

You need to hire a lawyer.

[MSGB]

Is your neighbor aware his water is causing damage to your property? Maybe you could try talking to him/her. Or, if friendly is not the way you want to go, send him/her a certified letter explaining that believe his/her water run-off is causing damage to your property.

You could also make a claim against your home owners' insurance company.