Lake Oswego man threatens lawsuit against city over damage from waterline rupture

Mountain Park resident Gary Vuchinich had to pay to replace the flooring in his home after a city of Lake Oswego waterline broke, flooding the downstairs first floor of his home with water and mud. Now, he's considering suing the city.

While the unfortunate event was outside of Vuchinich's control and he has homeowners insurance, he faces a bill of nearly $100,000 for the damages. Further, he said the waterline was left running for hours after the break.

"It needs to be a warning to people in the community that this could happen. And the city will not take responsibility for the damages. And they made the damages worse by not shutting off the water," Vuchinich said.

The city's insurance provider, CIS Oregon, deemed the local government not liable because "the City had not been working on this pipe and had no expectation that the pipe might rupture. There is no evidence to suggest the City was negligent in maintaining the pipe or responding to the rupture."

The 8-inch pipe was installed in 1970.

"We've got to go out and at this point get a home improvement loan to be able to afford to fix up the damage. We are elderly people. We live off social security and retirement. Our house has money tied into it," Vuchinich said. "I don't think the average homeowner in the city of Lake Oswego understands the liability they are assuming if a waterline, sewer line, breaks."

In response, Vuchinich's attorney Michael Montag sent a letter to the city that it may file a court action against the local government.

"I am aware that the City has denied liability for the Vuchiniches' damages — which total tens of thousands of dollars. However, City employee statements on site the day of the rupture indicate that the water main may have been leaking for some time, which suggests potential negligence by the City," the letter reads. "In addition, the Vuciniches are considering the extent to which the timing and nature of the City's response to the rupture may have exacerbated their damages. Lastly, the Vuciniches have been informed that the City has agreed to fund repairs to a privately maintained road damaged by the rupture. In other words, it appears that the City's denial of liability for the Vuciniches' damages was premature. We request that you reconsider leaving these residents without a remedy for the catastrophic damage caused by the City's failed infrastructure."

According to a statement from a maintenance person for the Condolea homeowners association (where the Vuciniches live), the city did not shut off the waterline immediately after the break for fear that dirty water would contaminate it and they would have to backflush the system. Vuchinich said the line break sunk a private road within the Condolea HOA , which the city committed to repairing.

City Manager Martha Bennett declined to comment, saying she couldn't say anything beyond CIS Oregon's reply.

Insurance challenges

Along with the city not covering the damages, Vucinich did not get coverage from his homeowners insurance provider, Travelers, or the insurance provider for the Condolea homeowners association, American Family Insurance.

Homeowners insurance policies don't usually cover damages from an exterior source..

Scott Van Hoff, the regional flood insurance liaison for FEMA, said that flood insurance likely would have covered this scenario because a flood — which is a "temporary condition of overland flow of flood water in an area normally dry" — can come from any source and cited a recent similar scenario where the damages were covered. However, the flooding must impact at least two parcels. In the Mountain Park case, the flooding seemed to impact a private road as well as Vuchinich's residence.

"That (two or more parcels) doesn't necessarily have to have buildings on them," Van Hoff said. "The parcel might be the road in front of their home, and might be owned by a city or county. That would be two or more parcels."

FEMA offers flood insurance with maximum policy coverage of $250,000 for a building structure and $100,000 for building contents for residential policies. It has commercial policies as well.

However, flood insurance, private or public, can approach $1,000 a year in costs, according to MoneyGeek. People living on a floodplain are required to have flood insurance, while people who are not have a choice. Oregon Department of Regulations spokesperson Jason Horton said that increased heavy rain events have led more people to purchase flood insurance even when they are not required to. According to Travelers Insurance, 25% of flood claims happen outside what the federal government labels as "high risk" zones. Van Hoff said that percentage has trended upward toward 40% in recent years.

"I think you're seeing more and more people, because of the amount of rain we've been getting, will pay for that. Some people can't afford it and will take a chance," Horton said.

Van Hoff said there were 250 flood insurance policies through FEMA in Lake Oswego with 68 claims since 1975. He added that the amount of federal flood insurance policies has decreased in some areas due to some reduction in the floodplain where insurance is required. However he has noticed an uptick in private insurance coverage in Washington.

"Many people buy flood insurance only because they are required to do so from their mortgage lender. When their mortgage lender releases them from the mandate, they will drop coverage often," Van Hoff said.