(WWJ) Some waterlogged homeowners in metro Detroit say they are ready to sue.
Attorney Ven Johnson announced his firm is filing a class action lawsuit against the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department claiming tens-of-thousands of dollars in damages and "irreplaceable losses" on behalf numerous property owners in Grosse Pointe and Detroit.
Grosse Pointe Park Police reported that approximately seven inches of rain fell within three hours last Friday. By Around 1 a.m. Saturday, Detroit's Connor Creek Pump Station, which is owned by DWSD, failed resulting in major flooding in eastern Wayne County communities.
Attorneys for the group say this was predictable, and avoidable
“DWSD takes in nearly half of a billion dollars in water and sewer fees annually, yet aging water and sewer lines under their purview regularly fail, devastating anything and everything caught in the path of these floodwaters,” said Paul Doherty, attorney at Ven Johnson Law, and flood victim. “Local residents are at the mercy of faceless local bureaucrats who literally put their constituents’ safety at risk by not investing in proper infrastructure. This flooding has upended lives causing stress and a feeling of powerlessness, and a huge financial strain of rebuilding homes or businesses.”
Doherty, a Grosse Pointe Park resident, said he suffered nearly $100,000 in property damage and the loss of two vehicles.
The most frustrating part, Doherty said, is that no one is taking accountability for failures that caused this preventable situation.
"I guess it's that feeling of, you know, you do what you're supposed to do, the government should do what it's supposed to do," Doherty told WWJ's Charlie Langton. "And when it doesn't, you suffer ...the government really doesn't. They go on with their world."
"And I'm not going to buy this storm of the century stuff, OK?" he added. "You know, these are foreseeable events. You have the capacity if the machines work right. When they don't, then this devastation occurs."
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Water Department officials say there was just too much rain in too short of a period of time to keep up during during the storms, leading to what the governor called a "500-year flooding event."
This firm noted that this is not the first time the region has faced catastrophic flooding caused by rain and failing infrastructure. In August of 2014, five inches of rapid-fire rain drenched freeways, homes and businesses across metro Detroit as drainage systems in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties were overwhelmed. Grosse Pointe Park has also faced a previous class action lawsuit in for flooding in 2016. In all three of these instances, countless properties and vehicles were decimated by the floodwaters.
The suit is expected to be filed in Wayne County Circuit Court.
Residents who have sustained water damage following recent flooding are urged to do the following:
• File a Sewage Disposal System Event Notice Claim Form within 45 days from the sewer backup with all potential responsible parties listed.
• Thoroughly document all losses with inventories and pictures.
• Check with homeowners’ insurance carriers for water and sewer back up coverage.
• Obtain at least two estimates for repairs.
For more information on the class action suit, affected residents can call 855-VEN-FIGHTS. Detroit residents who have hazardous standing water in their homes are urged to alert the Detroit Water Department by calling 313-267-8000 or visiting this link.
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