United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 23-50330 ____________ FILED April 25, 2024 Good River Farms, L.P., Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus TXI Operations, L.P.; Martin Marietta Materials, Incorporated,

Defendants—Appellants. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 1:17-CV-1117 ______________________________ Before Smith, Haynes, and Douglas, Circuit Judges. Dana M. Douglas, Circuit Judge: This appeal follows a “120-year flood” event that occurred near Austin, Texas, on October 30, 2015. The disputing parties own land directly across from each other along the Colorado River. Plaintiff-Appellee Good River Farms (“Good River”) sustained severe damage to its pecan farm and subsequently sued Defendants-Appellants Martin Marietta Materials and TXI Operations (collectively “Martin Marietta”), who utilize the land for strip mining. Good River claimed that the mining resulted in the presence of a large pit filled with groundwater that breached and released a deluge of Case: 23-50330 Document: 58-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/25/2024

No. 23-50330

impounded surface water onto their property. Following a jury trial, Good River was awarded $659,882.00 in damages, prevailing on claims for violations of Texas Water Code § 11.086 and for negligence. Martin Marietta appealed. Mindful of our deferential review of jury verdicts and the unique factual scenario present in this case, we AFFIRM.

I Good River operates a pecan farm on the north side of the Colorado River. In 2015, Good River’s property covered 377 acres and included 8,000 pecan trees, as well as several buildings where equipment and harvested pecans could be processed and stored. Martin Marietta operates a sand and gravel mine on the south side of the Colorado River, directly across from Good River’s pecan farm. Martin Marietta’s operation includes the presence of a large freshwater pit near the river, directly across from Good River. Parts of Good River’s pecan farm are in a 100-year floodplain. In the past, Good River experienced flooding in 1992 and 2013, although no damage occurred on the property. However, on Martin Marietta’s property, the 2013 flooding caused two breaches on the west and east sides of the north end of the freshwater pit. In early 2015, Dennis Schiwitz, Martin Marietta’s Equipment Operator, repaired the west breach of the pit but failed to repair the east breach until 2017. In 2015, the conditions outside Austin led to a “120-year flood” event. Both parties’ properties flooded, with Martin Marietta’s facilities covered by up to three feet of water. Testimony elicited at trial indicated that water overflowed the north wall of Martin Marietta’s freshwater pit and ran perpendicular to the current of the Colorado River to reach Good River’s property. For example, S. Turner Wimberly, manager and part owner of Good River, testified that he had been present at the property one or two days before the flood. He stated

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