Hey, Lao Ma, has your case been decided yet? "" Yes, the court has ordered the company to compensate us for our losses, "said Mr. Ma, a villager from a town in Jinzhou City, Liaoning Province, happily. Mr. Ma is one of the parties involved in a property damage compensation dispute. Since the farmland was washed away in July 2022, his heart has been fluctuating. Now that he has received the judgment, his two-year anxiety has finally come to an end. This verdict came too timely When the agent involved and the deputy mayor of a town in Jinzhou recently received the second instance judgment issued by the Jinzhou Intermediate People's Court, he was deeply moved and relieved that the legitimate rights and interests of the villagers had been protected. The case also starts from a sudden rainstorm two years ago. In July 2022, a dam in Jinzhou breached, causing river water to rush into farmers' courtyards, as well as their contracted crab fields, farmland, shrimp ponds, fish ponds, and other areas. As a result, nearly 4000 acres of farmland were flooded, leading to reduced yields, damage to aquatic products such as fish, shrimp, and crabs, a large number of trees died, vehicles and agricultural machinery were damaged, and serious soil erosion occurred. Subsequently, 189 affected rural families filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding that the three companies involved compensate for the loss of assets in the water damaged area. The first instance court ruled that three responsible units should jointly compensate the damaged farmers based on their land contract, property damage declaration, identification by the town government and village committee, and corresponding evidence materials such as on-site investigation, survey, and appraisal reports. The three defendants are dissatisfied and have filed an appeal. In July this year, during the hearing of the second instance, both parties held their own opinions. The responsible unit argued that rainstorm was force majeure and should not be liable for compensation; Farmers believe that poor maintenance of water conservancy facilities may lead to the occurrence of dam breaches. The Second Civil Court of Jinzhou Intermediate People's Court organized a collegial panel to thoroughly read the case file before the court, carefully reviewing every piece of evidence, transcript, and other relevant materials in the file, and conducting in-depth analysis of the location of the breach, the direction of the flood, and the extent of damage to farmland. Based on the appeal request and the focus and facts of the first instance dispute, the judge carefully listened to the opinions of both parties, summarized and concluded them, and made a trial outline and a transcript of the case review. The presiding judge also conducted in-depth on-site investigations and clarified the case. After trial, the court found that according to meteorological data, the weather on that day did not belong to force majeure natural disasters, and the losses caused by dam breaches were due to poor maintenance of water conservancy facilities. The responsible party should bear corresponding compensation responsibilities. The appellant, a certain pipeline limited liability company, is the daily maintenance party of the natural gas pipeline operation involved in the case, and is not the subject of the construction contract of the construction project involved. Therefore, it should not be held responsible for the losses caused by the dam breach. The other two responsible units, based on the fact of the location where the dam breach occurred, the first instance court determined that their liability for compensation for the losses caused by the dam breach was not improper and that they should compensate for the economic losses. In addition, the court also divided the compensation liability ratio of the relevant responsible parties based on their position and function in the construction of the project involved, as well as the magnitude of the causal force of the infringement, in order to avoid difficulties in executing compensation in the later stage and ensure that farmers' losses can be compensated in a timely manner. For farmers, land is the 'lifeblood', and often even a piece of land or a ridge can cause great conflicts, let alone this case involving nearly 4000 acres of farmland damaged The presiding judge said, "The trial and judgment of this case is a microcosm of Jinzhou Court serving the overall situation and safeguarding people's livelihoods. We will continue to provide high-quality judicial services from optimizing the business environment, serving and safeguarding people's livelihoods, and adhere to the use of legal thinking to promote grassroots governance, and do practical things for the people. (New Society)