Travelers Excess and Surplus Lines Company and Travelers Indemnity Company of America collectively, the “Travelers Companies” brought this negligence and inverse condemnation action against the City of Atlanta to recover damages for commercial property destroyed in a fire. According to the Travelers Companies, efforts to control the fire were delayed when the City’s fire department attached its water hose to an inoperable fire hydrant, causing the fire to spread uncontrollably and leading to increased property damage. The Travelers Companies alleged that the City was liable for the failure of its water department to notify the fire department that the hydrant was inoperable or to tag the hydrant as out of service. The trial court granted summary judgment to the City on the ground of sovereign immunity and dismissed the complaint. For the following reasons, we affirm. To prevail at summary judgment under OCGA § 9-11-56, the moving party must demonstrate that there is no genuine issue of material fact and that the undisputed facts, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, warrant judgment as a matter of law. A defendant may do this by showing the court that the documents, affidavits, depositions and other evidence in the record reveal that there is no evidence sufficient to create a jury issue on at least one essential element of plaintiff’s case. We review de novo a trial court’s grant of summary judgment. A grant of summary judgment must be affirmed if right for any reason, whether stated or unstated. It is the grant itself that is to be reviewed for error, and not the analysis employed. Citations and punctuation omitted. Duke Galish, LLC v. Manton , 291 Ga. App. 827, 827-828 662 SE2d 880 2008. So viewed, the record shows that Travelers Excess provided insurance coverage to the owner of a commercial building located in the City of Atlanta. In turn, Travelers Indemnity provided insurance coverage to one of the tenants operating a business there. On August 1, 2003, a fire started in the back portion of the building. Firefighters with the City of Atlanta Fire Department attempted to combat the fire by attaching a water hose to a nearby fire hydrant. The hydrant, however, did not work due to a defective operating stem, and the firefighters had to search for an alternative hydrant located further away from the fire. Allegedly, as a result of the delay in locating and attaching to a functional water source, the fire spread uncontrollably throughout the building, causing increased property damage.
The Travelers Companies paid out claims to their respective insureds for property damage caused by the fire. Exercising their contractual subrogation rights, the Travelers Companies thereafter commenced this damages action against the City. They alleged that the City was negligent because employees in its Bureau of Drinking Water had known that the fire hydrant was inoperable, but had failed to notify the City’s fire department that the hydrant was not working or to tag the hydrant as out of service. The Travelers Companies further alleged that these same actions of the City resulted in an inverse condemnation of the commercial property. According to the Travelers Companies, the City was responsible for the increased damage to the commercial property resulting from the delay caused by the fire department initially connecting its water hose to the inoperable hydrant.
