Ricky Ibarra’s family came home from a vacation in Aruba to discover their Augusta Lane home overwhelmed by raw sewage, with waste reaching two feet high in some rooms. The backup displaced Ibarra, his wife and their two young children, ages one and two, and left the family scrambling to figure out who — if anyone — will pay for the damage.
Ibarra’s brother, who was checking on the family’s pets while they were away, discovered the mess and alerted him, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Arlington Water Utilities later confirmed that a nearby city sewer line had become clogged, and crews were sent out to clear the blockage. The station reports the clog was made up of wipes, kitchen grease, and latex gloves that had built up over time in the line.
City Points to Households, Not Infrastructure
Arlington Water Utilities said the non-flushable materials behind the clog came from various households in the area, and that the city cannot always control what residents introduce into the sewer system, per the station’s report. Ibarra said Arlington city workers who responded told him the backup originated on the city line — yet the City of Arlington has denied responsibility for the sewage damage to his home. Ibarra says he is still trying to determine why his house was affected and who bears responsibility for the destruction, and he blames city infrastructure for what happened.
That denial lines up with longstanding Texas law. Under the Texas Supreme Court’s 2004 ruling in City of Arlington v. State Farm Lloyds, Texas courts treat municipal sewer operations as governmental functions, meaning cities are generally shielded from liability under the Texas Tort Claims Act when sewer backups damage private homes. Still, Texas Local Government Code Section 552.912, detailed by Justia Law, gives Arlington the statutory authority to voluntarily pay actual property damages from a sewer backup, even though it retains immunity from being forced to do so.
A Documented History and an Uncertain Payout
The home’s paperwork already carried a warning sign. The previous homeowner disclosed a 2015 sewer backup in which sewage water rose from the toilets and caused substantial damage, Ibarra said. That disclosure was required under Texas Real Estate Commission rules, which mandate that sellers reveal known material defects like prior plumbing failures before a sale closes. Texas Property Code Section 5.008, cited by Justia Law, similarly requires sellers statewide to disclose past sewer line backups regardless of whether a home is sold as-is…