Joel Brown and Iris Brown, Plaintiffs Below, Appellants v. United Water Delaware, Inc., Defendant Below, Appellee

Summary

The court held that summary judgment was inappropriate on the Browns' gross-negligence claim because the evidence could support a finding that the utility knowingly failed to correct dangerous hydrant conditions, although the evidence could not support willful or wanton misconduct. The court also held that the utility waived any filed-rate defense to gross negligence by deliberately declining to brief that issue after remand. It vacated the judgment for the utility and remanded for further proceedings, leaving the filed-rate issue unresolved because the lower court's discussion of it was dictum.