Jury Trial Win in Claim of Nuisance Against Town of Wallingford

By: Alan R. Dembiczak

adembiczak@hl-law.com

860-249-1361 Ext. 148

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Howd & Ludorf, LLC, partner Alan Dembiczak and associate Christopher Clark, recently won a jury trial for the Town of Wallingford in New Haven Superior Court, in a suit alleging creation of a nuisance on Plaintiffs’ property.  In Pietrandrea v. Town of Wallingford, Plaintiffs alleged that the Town’s installation of storm catch basins and drainage infrastructure near Plaintiffs’ property, resulted in an increase of runoff onto his property, rendering unusable a storage barn he owned and made available for rent.  Plaintiffs claimed the increased runoff inflicted damage to his property, making it impossible to rent his storage space and depriving him of income.  Through expert testimony, attorneys Dembiczak and Clark established that prior to the installation of the subject drainage system the topographical drainage patterns caused storm water to flow onto Plaintiffs’ property and the new system did not materially increase the flows onto Plaintiffs’ land.  In returning a verdict for the Defendant Town, the jury found the Town had not materially harmed the Plaintiffs’ property, and held that the Town was not liable for creation of a nuisance.