Town Of Syracuse Facing Lawsuit Over Alleged Damage
By Lauren Zeugner
Staff Writer
SYRACUSE — The Town of Syracuse received a rather unwanted gift a few days before Christmas, a lawsuit brought on by John and Lora Stout seeking compensation for damage done to their cottage, located in Oakwood Park.
“It was a horrible experience,” said John Stout, in a phone interview. “We had just fixed up our basement and made it usable and it was trashed. We had to replace the shower and toilet … Nothing else that was wood or other material, anything that could absorb anything, had to be trashed.”
Stout recounted how he and his wife arrived at their cottage late in the evening of Friday, June 11. He went into the home first to turn on the lights and the water. When he stepped off the steps into his basement, he stepped into raw sewage that covered the entire basement.
“We didn’t know what to do,” Stout said. The couple considered leaving, but had just driven more than 200 miles. Instead, they decided to stay with the windows open and an attic fan going, which just drew the stench of the sewage through the house.
“We couldn’t understand how it happened. No one was there. No one flushed the toilet,” Stout said. On Saturday, June 12, Stout called Miller Sewer which came out and tested the sewer line from the cottage to the street. Everything seemed fine.
It was determined the sewage had come from a shower head, toilet and sink in a bathroom in the basement. Miller Sewer Cleaning, out of Goshen, recommended Serv Pro who came and looked at the situation. Stout ended up hiring Serv Pro to clean up the mess.
According to Stout, Serv Pro “classified the mess as its highest classification. They worked four to five days including a weekend and one person was in a haz-mat suit.”
The following Wednesday, Stout returned to the cottage to meet with “a woman from the town and someone from public works.” Stout identified the woman as “Elizabeth.” Stout said they came out, looked the situation over, took photos and said the town was responsible for the damage done in the cottage’s basement.
A few days later Stout met with Elizabeth and provided her with additional information and the estimate from Serv Pro.
Stout said his neighbors in Oakwood Park told him they had seen sewer work being done by their property earlier June 11. He claims the woman from town who came out said, “We jetted the line,” during her visit to assess the damage.
The Stouts spent a considerable amount of time and money in restoring the basement to its previous condition. Stout said dry wall had to be removed from the floor up 2 feet and moisture could be seen on the studs underneath.
The couple also had to throw out furniture, area rugs and other items that were not salvageable. The damage was not covered by the Stouts insurance policy. “In the last 20 or so years, State Farm has covered events where things come from outside only if there is a specific rider on the policy,” Stout said. The couple didn’t have the rider on their homeowner’s policy.
The Stouts assumed since representatives of the town had told them the town was responsible, the town would reimburse them. However, contact with the town soon ceased.
The Stouts hired local attorney Steve Snyder who explained immunity is available to municipalities for discretionary acts. For example, the town council could make it a policy town sewers are to be cleaned. Once such a decision is made, it becomes a ministerial act. Snyder explained if the ministerial act is done negligently, it can expose the town to liability.
“We thought a lot about what had happened and couldn’t believe the town would just walk away,” Stout said. “I did some legal research and talked to Steve (Snyder). We believe the case law is strong enough, worth the risk to take the case to court.”
In a phone interview, Snyder explained the question becomes whether there was an unreasonable amount of pressure used to clean the sewer. He noted the Stouts weren’t the only homeowners in the park whose property was significantly damaged. A neighbor of the Stouts, after hearing about what they encountered, came to her vacation cottage and discovered water damage in her basement.
Stout described his neighbor’s property damage as having “deep water, 2-3 feet in her basement. … It wrecked her water heater and personal property.” Stout said he believed his neighbor also contacted the town, but again the town claimed it was not their responsibility.
The town’s insurance carrier has retained Gardner and Rans, a law firm in South Bend, to represent its interests. According to Snyder, no court date has been set yet. Martin Gardner will be representing the town in court. Snyder said Gardner requested an additional 30 days to respond.
Gardner did not return a phone call seeking comment before press time.
The matter was also brought to the Oakwood Property Owners Association, the person who was the association president at the time tried to approach the town on the Stouts behalf with no response.