Homeowners accept settlement in sewer lawsuit against Lake Placid

The homeowners sought damages in excess of $100,000 claiming a sewer system "design flaw" caused extensive damage to their homes.

According to the lawsuit's complaint, when Hurricane Irma struck in 2017, the purported design flaw led to a backup of raw sewage into two homes on Trafalgar Way, Lake Placid.

Gary Houghton, the original developer of Newcastle Townhomes and Balmoral Assisted Living, was required by Highlands County to install, at his expense, a sewer system and lift station to serve the assisted living center, the complaint notes.

Houghton hired a licensed/certified sanitation engineer to manage the project, including the design, construction and installation of the sewer system, the complaint states.

The Town of Lake Placid, through its Building Department, did not conduct a final inspection and approval of the construction and installation of the sewer system, the lawsuit states. The lift station and sewer system were installed and constructed after other homes were constructed in the immediate area, including the property of the plaintiff.

The lawsuit states the lift station was built above the elevation of the sewer lines of the other homes in the immediate vicinity, which is a "design flaw."

When there was an extended power outage due to Hurricane Irma in September 2017, the lift station became inoperable and raw sewage flowed backwards into a number of homes, the complaint states.

As a direct result of the design flaw in the sewer system, the homeowners' property sustained significant property damage that was not covered by their homeowner's insurance policy, the lawsuit states.

The Town's motion for summary judgment stated that the circumstances were unfortunate, but there can be little room for dispute that the Town is immune from the Plaintiff's negligence claims as they pertain to discretionary, judgmental and planning-level decisions. The Legislature established sovereign immunity for non-operational level decisions.

Court recorders show that Robert and Patricia Jasper and Lewis and Beverly Glaspey have accepted a settlement proposed by the Town of Lake Placid.

Also, in November, both the Jaspers and Glaspeys filed voluntary dismissals with prejudice of all claims by them (plaintiffs) against the Town of Lake Placid (defendant).

Lake Placid Town Administrator Phil Williams said the Town didn't pay a settlement, but that the Town's insurance company negotiated everything.

"I have a question in to our legal system to determine whether that information is public record for me to comment on what our insurance carrier paid," he said.

The homeowners were being represented by attorney Larry Moskowitz of Fort Lauderdale.

The Town of Lake Placid was being represented by William Boltrek and Brenda Sitar of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., Fort Myers.