Lawsuits are a big deal no matter what the cost may be. Lawsuits that range in the million dollar mark are monsters all their own though. Having to deal with it as a single person can be life changing to say the least. But how does it work out with an entire district? That’s right, an entire district is under a lawsuit currently. The Miami Conservancy District to be exact, and the lawsuit isn’t for a million stand alone, but a daunting $1.56 million. And according to Jeff Faulkner, the man suing, it is for a very good reason.
Reasoning behind the lawsuit? Well the Hydraulic Canal that flows from the Great Miami River just north of Middletown, continues through the city, and then back to the area around the Bicentennial Commons had not been maintained well enough. The Conservancy District failed to do their job, or so Faulkner would say, since there is a back flow from the hydraulic canal and river as sewer water began to collect onto his property at Northgate Condos. This is causing the water to go up to 5 to 6 feet deep as the problem has yet been fixed. Since this is, in fact, sewer water, it was starting to become a huge safety and health risk to the residents of the condos, including himself. The damages to the property caused by the flooding issue have already gathered up to $60,000, which Faulkner has paid himself.
Brenda Gibson, a spokeswoman for the Miami Conservancy District has made it clear that the lawsuit has been received but that the district attorneys have yet to get the chance to review it. The Miami Conservancy’s job is basically to prevent the one that that it did not do: the flood. They do also help maintain and monitor the quality of water for the Dayton to Middletown areas. The District now, currently, has only 27 days to respond to the lawsuit, so there is still time for the attorneys to review the lawsuit properly and prepare accordingly.
From what Faulkner has stated, he has claimed that the issue causing the sewer water leak was derived from a failed head gate just north of Middletown. Since the head gate had failed, the Hydraulic Canal had no where to flow the water to, thus the standing water became more and more stagnant as it had no way to get back to the Great Miami River.
Attempts to properly maintain the areas around the failed head gate and the head gate itself have been met with even more negativity as Faulkner claims that it is doing more harm than good. “The Miami Conservancy District has unreasonably obstructed the natural and customary flow of sewer water, simultaneously preventing even more flow”, said Faulkner.
Faulkner is attempting to recoup his initial $60,000 damages investing, along with the attorney fees, as well as a respective $500,000 from 3 separate claims, on the counts of “irreparable harm” for the actions of the Conservancy District that have now led to flooding on Faulkner’s property.
More will be covered on the case as it is revealed.
