Owners of a lot purchased from the neighborhood’s developer filed a lawsuit alleging the developer negligently designed, constructed and developed the subdivision and its sanitary and storm sewage lines and treatment system in such a way that sewage backs up onto Plaintiffs’ property and into Plaintiffs’ home. The developer filed a third-party complaint against the contractor, who constructed the Plaintiffs’ house, installed the Plaintiffs’ plumbing and connected the Plaintiffs’ sewage line to the neighborhood’s main sewage line, alleging the contractor negligently failed to initially install an overflow mechanism on the Plaintiffs’ sewage line. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the contractor because Developer failed to produce sufficient evidence showing that under the standard of care required of plumbers, the contractor was required to include an overflow mechanism on the Plaintiffs’ plumbing and the failure to do so constituted negligence.
