Retaining Wall Collapse Liability Based on Faulty Construction

A property owner, who had a retaining wall bordering a neighbor's lower-lying land, sued the neighbor for damages, alleging that the neighbor's excavation work near the base of the wall caused it to collapse; the trial court rejected the claim, finding that the retaining wall, constructed without proper municipal authorization and thus lacking the necessary regulatory strength, was inherently unstable and would have collapsed regardless of the excavation, which was itself carried out without proven fault. The highest court upheld the dismissal, reasoning that since the retaining wall's collapse was primarily attributable to its faulty and unauthorized construction rather than any negligence or misuse of the neighboring property, the owner of the wall could not shift the resulting damage liability to the neighbor.