CONNEAUT — A lawsuit rooted in a 42-year-old agreement will cost the city of Conneaut tens of thousands of dollars to settle, City Council learned at Monday's meeting.
The lawsuit, filed last year by Gerald and Mary Eighmy, 1266 Lake Road, alleged the city had failed to maintain a municipal storm sewer across their lakefront property that links Lake Road and the lake bank, according to court documents. The result has been erosion to their property, according to documents.
The matter had been scheduled for a jury trial this week, according to court records.
Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court Judge Gary Yost found in favor of the Eighmys weeks ago, but the damages were not part of the ruling. Negotiations completed over the weekend will see the city finance repairs to the faulty pipe, a project that could cost in excess of $50,000, said Law Director Lori Lamer.
Legislation will come before council authorizing the hiring of an engineer already familiar with the project, Lamer said. The city will then seek bids for the repair project, she said.
The city will have to borrow the money needed to do the project, Lamer said. The settlement is not covered by insurance, she said.
“It's an expense that is borne solely by the city,” Lamer said.
A 1966 agreement between the city and the landowners at the time allowed construction of the storm sewer on the property with the understanding maintenance of the line was a municipal obligation.
According to court documents, the city argued the line in question — a 30-inch pipe — was not specifically addressed in the original 1966 agreement.
The Eighmys, in their complaint, originally sought $25,000 damages from the city and another $15,000 from former city manager Douglas Lewis, whom the Eighmys claim made statements about the storm sewer project that were false and meant to deceive, according to court records.
The city argued Lewis was acting within the scope of his employment, and Yost agreed in his ruling, according to documents.
Initially, the city suspected lake bank erosion caused the line to fail, and not the other way around, Lamer told council. “Now we believe it's difficult to tell which caused which,” she said.
Despite the city's arguments, the intent of the 1966 agreement was pretty clear, Lamer said. “It's not a great result for the city, but probably the correct result,” she said.
Ward 1 Councilman Dave Campbell, who recently clashed with Lamer over municipal litigation, asked why council was kept in the dark on the Eighmy lawsuit “until it was over and (the city) needed our funding.”
Council was first apprised of the case during an executive session last week, Campbell said. “How do I make accurate decisions when crucial information is withheld from me?” he asked.
Lamer, as she has noted in the past, said she does not like to report lawsuits to council until she has “the complete picture.” Some information discussed at executive sessions could leak and give the opposition an advantage, she said.
“Nobody is hiding anything,” Lamer said. “To have council involved at that point is not effective. It's not good lawyering.”
Interim City Manager Edward Somppi said the matter had been going on “for quite some time.” The city wanted to avoid a jury trial because officials had been told “we don't have a leg to stand on,” he said.
Former Conneaut Law Director Robert Naylor, who represented the Eighmys, declined comment on the case Monday afternoon, citing a non-disclosure clause in the agreement.
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