A fifth lawsuit has been filed against a developer, builder and a Brunswick County city over known stormwater issues and deceptive trade practices.
Six residents in The Highlands residential community have joined together to file a new lawsuit against Logan Homes, Dominion Land Corporation and the city of Boiling Spring Lakes. While a 100-year flood in September 2024 was the tipping point, residents claim warnings and signs of flooding problems existed well before the big storm.
"For the affected households, the event was not a single day of high water," resident Tiffany Braden said. "It became months of damaged belongings, demolition, reconstruction, displacement and efforts to understand why their recently constructed homes flooded after earlier
drainage concerns."
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 10 to Brunswick County Superior Court. Residents behind the case include Tiffany and Bryan Braden, Randolph and Emily Peat, Jeffrey Trueman and Anne Marie Capps.
Background of The Highlands
A plat map was recorded to the Brunswick County Register of Deeds in 1996 for the Highlands at Boiling Spring Lakes. Previously approved development plans were grandfathered in when Dominion Land Corporation purchased the land.
Several residents of the community said they have been negatively impacted by the neighborhood's water drainage. The impact came to a peak when Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight in September 2024 flooded multiple homes.
Dominion and Logan Developers Inc. served the city with a civil summons in October 2024, to figure out who's responsible for fixing a neighborhood drainage problem. An agreement between the city and developer was reached in March 2025.
Claims made in the filing
The six Westway Road residents claim not only were there warnings and concerns about water drainage before residential development, but that homeowners repeatedly complained before the September 2024 flooding.
Flood maps do not show their area is in a flood zone, explained Braden. When the homebuyers questioned flooding issues before purchasing their home, Tiffany Braden said they were told flood insurance was not needed and that there was no flood risk.
Tiffany Braden was one of the residents who experienced flood waters just under a foot high inside her home in 2024. Braden said there were developers expressed concerns about stormwater drainage and flooding before some of the land was purchased and developed.
The filed complaint highlights a 2021 engineering report stating the ditches were clogged or poorly maintained. The report recommended to clear and reestablish drainage facilities before further development where The Highlands was to be built. The city's adopted Stormwater Management Master Plan in 2022 uses the report's findings.
The developers were suppose to have everything in place or planned before obtaining a building permit, Tiffany Braden added.
The residents have drainage and standing water concerns documented from August 2023, when Tropical Storm Idalia coasted through the Wilmington area, and September 2024, when Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight dropped 12-20 inches of rain in about 12 hours across the region.
"We're not just suing them because we flooded. We flooded because we knew there was a problem and were trying to tell them there was a problem before something like that happened and they didn't do anything," Tiffany Braden said.
Some of the stormwater ditches fall under city maintenance, while rear drainage areas are maintained by Dominion/the homeowners association under the parties' post-litigation division of responsibilities.
After the September 2024 flood and resident complaints, residents saw maintenance performed on portions of the drainage system affecting Westway Road. The maintenance made a difference, but it did not erase the conditions residents had been reporting for years.
Though weather and nature are uncontrollable, Braden believes preventative measures could have been taken to protect the future structures and homeowners.
Residents continue to document standing water and drainage concerns, while neither drainage areas have received additional maintenance since October 2025.
Boiling Spring Lakes City Manager Matthew Kirkland said the city has no comment on pending litigation. Attorneys of the other defendants have not responded to the StarNews' attempt for comment as of Aug. 26.
"Unfortunately, nearly two years later, we’re still fighting for answers," Tiffany Braden said.
The lawsuit also claims negligent misrepresentation and unfair/deceptive trade practices, arguing the buyers would have acted differently if they had known more about the drainage risk.
No attorney representation
Wilmington attorney Wesley S. Jones is representing the other four cases. Two of the lawsuits were filed in June 2025, one resident filed in November 2025 and the most recent filing was in March 2026.
Unlike the other cases, the three neighboring Westway households had to file without an attorney.
What started as three families trying to get answers about why their new homes flooded has turned into them trying to navigate a complicated superior court case on their own, Braden said.
"One of the hardest parts has been trying to find representation," Braden said. "We reached out to more than 15 law firms and ultimately reached the point where we felt we had no choice but to file ourselves before potentially losing our ability to pursue the claims."
Braden said she is continuing to gather evidence and figure out proper court procedures and requirements. If new evidence is discovered or a change is needed, Braden said they can file a complaint amendment.
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Savanna Tenenoff covers Brunswick County for the StarNews. Reach her at stenenoff@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Brunswick residents file lawsuit over 'deceptive' flooding
