What Recourse is Available When Subsidence Damages Private Property?
The threat of land subsidence and earth fissures encourages wise groundwater use. With a heightened awareness of subsidence, however, some homeowners are now likely to find a cause to blame for any unexplained cracks in property and buildings. The next step would be to fix blame and seek restitution or try to. This situation raises various questions: What are the legal implications when a homeowner believes subsidence damaged his or her property? What recourse is available? Who would be liable? What compensation might be had? In Arizona, there is no case law of private property owners suing to recover damages from subsidence, although some officials believe such cases are likely in the future. Subsidence is a fact of life in south-central Arizona, with over 3,000 square miles of the area affected by subsidence. This includes the expanding metropolitan areas of Phoenix and Tucson. Earth fissures caused by ground failure in areas of uneven or differential compaction have damaged building
