Zurich-owned Farmers Insurance has dropped its legal action against councils in the Chicago area, ending one of the first lawsuits related to climate change.

Farmers sued after Chicago was inundated by floods last year. It claimed the councils were aware of an increased risk but did not take action to prevent it.

Legal experts expected the councils to argue they had a public authority’s legal immunity from lawsuits.

Farmers has not explained why it has abandoned the action within weeks of starting it, but a spokesman told US media the company hopes the case will encourage authorities to do more to reduce flood risk.