The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the former Clark County surveyor in his request that he should have been involved in a project involving Lancassange Creek. But the judges reversed summary judgment for the surveyor regarding whether he should have been involved in a project in a subdivision.

Robert Isgrigg, while Clark County surveyor, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and permanent injunction against the Clark County Board of Commissioners and Clark County Drainage Board, claiming the boards didn’t follow Indiana Code with regards to his involvement in projects. He claimed that he should have been involved in a project in the Sunset Hills subdivision to fix surface water collecting onto the subject properties. Isgrigg argued that the improvements in Sunset Hill constituted a regulated drain under Indiana code, so he should have been involved. The drainage board had worked with Brian Dixon, a licensed engineer, regarding the surface water problems.

In Clark County Drainage Board and Clark County Board of Commissioners v. Robert Isgrigg, No. 10A05-1102-PL-68, the appellate court found there to be no genuine issues of material fact that there were any regulated drains in the subdivision, as is required to trigger the use of the county surveyor. There were no open channels in the subdivision either before or after the drainage board’s involvement in the project, Judge Edward Najam wrote.

But the COA did affirm summary judgment for Isgrigg in his complaint regarding whether the drainage board had authority to remove an obstruction in the Lancassange Creek project. On appeal, the drainage board conceded that the work should have been administered in accordance with Indiana Code 36-9-27.4, which should have included the participation of the county surveyor.

Because the appellate court held that each party was entitled to a partial grant of summary judgment, it vacated the award of costs to Isgrigg and ordered each party to pay their own costs.