Stephanie Long
(6/7) A jury in the Frederick County
Circuit Court awarded seven Thurmont families
nearly $3.5 million for damages resulting from
a sewer backup occurring in their homes in
2003.
“They were thrilled,” said John E. Coppock
Jr., one of the families’ lawyers. “They’re
happy it’s over.”
The families involved in the suit were
granted awards ranging from $317,101 to
$699,733 for economic damages, property loss
and pain and suffering. Coppock said that he
was not surprised by the outcome of the trial
and thought the award was fair and “right in
line with the damages that they had to their
homes.”
Not surprisingly, Thurmont Mayor Martin
Burns did not agree with Coppock.
“I understand that it [the flooding] was
horrible, but no one deserves $500,000 for
it,” Burns said.
Burns said that he agreed that compensation
should have been given to the families, but
the amount awarded by the jury was excessive.
The defense has filed a post-trial motion
in regards to the judges’ interpretation of
the state tort protection for municipalities
and counties. The defense claims that the act
holds the town liable for only $500,000 per
occurrence, and therefore the plaintiffs as a
whole should have only been awarded $500,000
at the most, Burns said.
The judge interpreted the act differently,
and ruled that although the homes were flooded
by the same flooding event, each homeowner’s
flooding was a separate occurrence and
therefore each homeowner was entitled to
separate compensation.
Within a few weeks a post-trial motion hearing
will be held and the judge will rule on how
the tort protection affects each individual
award. It is expected that the judge will also
decrease the total award by $848,500 because
of a jury error, which granted each plaintiff
an award for real property twice, Burns said.
In addition to filing post-trial motions,
the defense is planning to appeal the ruling,
Burns said.
Although it is not known on what grounds
the defense will base their appeal, there
could be discussion as to whether or not a
specific document should have been admissible
in court.
According to a building permit obtained by
The Dispatch through the Freedom of
Information Act, the Valentine family was
instructed by the town of Thurmont that the
construction of a basement in their home was
not permitted and if it was, “In no way would
the Commissioners of Thurmont be responsible
for any damage done to this residence during
flooding conditions.” The judge would not
allow the permit to be entered into evidence
during the trial and the Valentines were
awarded over $300,000 by the jury.
To cover the cost of the award, Thurmont
has raised the sewer rates $2 dollars per
1,000 gallons, Burns said, since it is still
unknown if the town’s insurance will cover any
part of the award. This increase will cost the
average homeowner in Thurmont $120 a year more
sewer fees.
