Redford resident appeals dismissed flood lawsuit – The Big Bend Sentinel

On the day her case is dismissed, county workers show up with bulldozers

PRESIDIO COUNTY – On Aug. 23, Redford resident Barbara Baskin filed an appeal of a district court decision protecting the county against her claims that a pattern of neglect, discrimination and shoddy construction led to the catastrophic failure of a county-maintained retention basin designed to protect her property from flooding.

On the night of May 27, 2023, floodwaters breached the dam above her home below Highway 170 and County Road 18, leaving a gap in the pond wall about 12 feet wide. Water and debris poured in from both sides of the road, knocking over Baskin's gate and submerging her field and historic adobe home under about 2 feet of water. “It was only through luck and quick thinking that Ms. Baskin and her dog Lucy and two mules were saved from being washed away and dying or suffering serious injuries,” Baskin's attorney John Sopuch wrote in the original lawsuit.

The lawsuit details about 13 years of work the county did on the property surrounding her home, including the retention pond — all defective and never properly maintained, she said. She claims that then-District Judge Cinderela Guevara ordered Roads and Bridges Director Ruben Carrasco to maintain the pond and adjacent property on multiple occasions, but the work was never done. “Over the course of many years, Carrasco simply ignored multiple direct orders from county judges and commissioners to make repairs,” Sopuch wrote.

Just two months before the flood, Baskin was scheduled to present the status of the retention pond's dam in Presidio County District Court. The timing was eerie — she was worried about what would happen if a heavy rain pushed water from the Bofecillos Mountains into the arroyos that flowed toward her home. Those floods were supposed to be held back by the pond, and a spillway was supposed to direct the water down a path to a historic acequia — an irrigation canal built for farming in the 19th century. Guevara took the presentation off the agenda due to time constraints, Baskin said, and later did not return calls to reschedule the appointment.

Baskin said The Big Bend Sentinel that in the months following the flooding, no county official contacted her to see how they could resolve her situation — except for County Commissioner Margarito Hernandez, who visited the flood site but had no quick solutions. Because Baskin filed the lawsuit on October 31, 2023, county officials said they could not comment on the case.

Under Texas law, counties are immune from most negligence lawsuits. During a March 4 hearing before District Judge Roy Ferguson, Presidio County moved to dismiss Baskin's lawsuit.

Baskin's attorney argued that Baskin's case fell within these very narrow limits due to the alleged damages caused by the operation of motor-driven vehicles. He asked the judge to at least allow the case to be heard for evidentiary hearings to better understand the role that bulldozers, excavators and other motorized equipment played in the damages. District Attorney Denis Dennis argued that case law provides very narrow limits for the exception.

On Tuesday, July 30, Ferguson finally ruled in favor of the county.

Something else unexpected happened that day. Before Baskin was even notified of the verdict, county bulldozers showed up near the broken dam and went to work, clearing dirt along the waterway toward her home and the acequia. “It looked like they wanted to help,” Baskin said, though she was confused that no one from the county had contacted her. It seemed extremely odd to her that county workers had not come to the site for 14 months – and that they showed up on the day of her court verdict.

Work continued the next day, and Baskin said it looked like workers were putting up a large dam to direct water in the direction of the acequia where it was supposed to flow. That particular project was never completed — workers came to pick up the county's equipment on Thursday, Aug. 1. Drone footage of the work appears to show a large gap behind the dam, through which water would then flow directly to Baskin's house. “It looked like they did the right thing, then they left, and now I'm worse off than before,” Baskin said. “If there's another flood, I'm in trouble.”

Neither equipment nor workers have returned since August 1. Baskin suspects that county officials were sending her a message to back off or were taunting her. The Guardian has filed a motion to disclose Carrasco's work notes for the week of the verdict, along with all emails to or from him and his text messages. The county has released the work notes and emails, but has not yet provided the text messages.

On Monday, District Attorney Rod Ponton said he had discovered that the drainage work had been ordered by Commissioner Hernandez. Carrasco wrote in his notes about a phone call with Hernandez and a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, August 27, to “satisfy Baskin.[s] illegal requests” and “do what BB asks.”

Carrasco’s notes from Wednesday read: “[workers’ initials] in Redford through BB area, on instructions from [workers initials]. [worker initials] said he needed something tomorrow and could finish it tomorrow.”

Carrasco did not respond to an email seeking comment. Hernandez did not respond to a call and text seeking comment. If Baskin continues her appeal, it will be heard in the 8th Texas Circuit Court of Appeals in El Paso.

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