$5.67 Million bench trial verdict on behalf of the Constan Car Wash

In July 2025, Harpootlian Law obtained a bench trial verdict on behalf of the Constan Car Wash against the City of Columbia for $5.67 million in an inverse condemnation case. The City claimed it owned a portion of land upon which Constan had constructed a wall to divert floodwater and demolished the wall. The demolition caused severe flooding on the Constan property that eventually closed the car wash and significantly devalued the land. Upon proving that the City did not actually own the land in question, and that the floodwater caused millions of dollars of damages to Constan, the judge rendered a verdict in Constan’s favor. The City appealed the case but ultimately settled it for $5 million. Constan was represented by Dick Harpootlian and Andrew Hand of Richard A. Harpootlian, P.A. and Tobias Ward of Tobias G. Ward, P.A.
https://www.wistv.com/2026/04/02/columbia-settles-5-million-lawsuit-with-former-gervais-street-car-wash/