The Plaintiffs sued their employers’ property manager in negligence for lost income after the Potomac River flooded Washington harbor and the businesses where they worked. The Plaintiffs alleged that the property manager negligently failed to raise sea walls despite receiving sufficient warning of the coming flood. The property manager moved to dismiss and argued that the Economic Loss Doctrine barred the Plaintiffs’ claims in their entirety. The Superior Court granted the Defendant’s motion.

The Court of Appeals affirmed and formally recognized the Economic Loss Doctrine (which had not formally been adopted by any court of record in the District). In brief, when a plaintiff suffers a purely economic loss (as distinct from injury to person or property) as a result of a defendant’s negligence the plaintiff cannot recover in tort.

For a more in-depth examination of this issue, click here to read a blog written by Cynthia M. Weisz.