About two dozen residents dealing with chronic flooding issues near so-called “Miller Lake” in Volusia County have filed another lawsuit — and this time, the county is named as a defendant.
The county’s “alleged failure to manage the Miller Lake stormwater system has caused recurring flooding, elevated water, saturation, interference with access, and other conditions substantially interfering” with the plaintiffs’ property, according to the complaint filed in late September.
Another, related lawsuit from the residents is still ongoing, against seven private entities connected to two strip malls in Orange City. That first complaint, initially filed in May 2025 and amended earlier this year, alleges the companies’ “artificial drainage alterations” direct stormwater to so-called “Miller Lake” — which is really private property.
RELATED: ‘This isn’t a lake’: Inside one battle for better stormwater management in Volusia County
Quick background
So-called “Miller Lake” in Orange City does not appear on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s map cataloguing the state’s more than 4,000 lakes. It is not publicly owned and is not a lawful stormwater outfall, according to the lawsuits.
There is a known, public water body called Miller Lake in DeLand, about 13 miles away. The lawsuits are about “Miller Lake,” historically known as “Miller Pond,” just south of Orange City.
Despite “Miller Lake” not being a public water body, it was approved as an outfall on stormwater discharge permits issued by the St. Johns River Water Management District. The permits allow two nearby strip malls to send excess stormwater there, to “Miller Lake.”
In reality, a culvert dispenses the stormwater runoff directly onto private property, according to the lawsuits.
Legal claims
The lawsuit recently filed against Volusia is twofold.
First, it seeks to declare, once and for all, the legal status of “Miller Lake.” The water management district has issued stormwater discharge permits naming “Miller Lake” as an outfall, but public records do not indicate the presence of a public water body by that name in the area. (The district has not responded to attorneys’ requests for it to clarify whether “Miller Lake” is a designated water body, and has also declined to respond to a similar request from Central Florida Public Media.)
“The label ‘Miller Lake,’ by itself, does not alter ownership and does not create stormwater-use rights,” according to the complaint. “The uncertainty affects Plaintiffs’ ownership rights, ability to use and protect their property, potential exposure to flooding, and ability to address unauthorized stormwater activity.”
The lawsuit also seeks to hold the county accountable for damage caused to the plaintiffs’ property from flooding.
Volusia’s stormwater management project for the area, which involved dredging several county-owned parcels so more water could fit, has exacerbated flooding of other, privately-owned land near so-called “Miller Lake,” according to the complaint. The complaint also alleges the county did not take proper legal steps to condemn privately-owned land receiving the stormwater, and is instead allowing stormwater to spill onto the land without landowners’ permission.
Sovereign immunity
A legal doctrine called sovereign immunity makes it difficult for governmental entities to be sued.
RELATED: How sovereign immunity makes it hard to sue the government
In particular, Section 373.443 of the Florida Statutes provides broad sovereign immunity for any “agents of the state,” including water management districts.
Another state statute, Section 768.28, provides a “partial waiver” of sovereign immunity, allowing for governmental entities to be held liable for damages up to a certain amount: $200,000 per person, or $300,000 per incident. But first, before it can be sued for damages, the government entity must receive a written notice of claim and have six months to respond, according to the statute. If the government entity does not respond to the notice, then a lawsuit may be filed against it.
Attorneys representing the “Miller Lake” plaintiffs sent a notice of claim to Volusia County in May of 2025. The county did not respond.
The St. Johns River Water Management District is not a defendant in either of the two lawsuits, but is named in the second one because it is the regulatory entity responsible for permitting discharges of stormwater in the area.
The district also previously received a notice of claim about “Miller Lake,” but did not respond. That “has contributed to the need” for a declaration of the water body’s legal status, according to the complaint filed last month.
Earlier this year, both chambers of the Florida legislature approved a bill that would have — for the first time in over a decade — raised the state’s monetary damage limits for government entities, according to the Florida Bar.
The bill would have upped the per-person cap, from $200,000 to $350,000, and the per-incident cap, from $300,000 to $500,000. Governor Ron DeSantis ultimately vetoed the bill, citing concerns that it would encourage meritless lawsuits.
