North Shore suburb Wilmette could be in deep water with a group of property owners who have sued the village, claiming a storm water improvement project excluded their properties leaving them more vulnerable to storm water damage than before the project's implementation.
Named plaintiffs Genevieve Missirlian Vartian, Raffi Vartian, and Johnson Schaff, on behalf of themselves and others, filed a new class action lawsuit against the village of Wilmette on April 28 in Cook County Circuit Court. The residents and property owners are accusing the village of a breach of contract for failing to protect the interests of all the structures and residents within the village. They claim a storm water improvement project wrongly excluded 90 structures from the plan's scope leaving them more vulnerable to storm water damage than prior to the plan's initiation following a typical storm which resulted in water damage.
According to the complaint, the property owners are claiming the village had a responsibility to not only ensure all the properties within the village are protected from the threat of storm damage, but to have a critical emergency plan in place to prevent invasive storm water damage. The owners of the 90 vulnerable structures assert the village was derelict in its responsibility to the owners, and in breach of contract with its residents and business property owners for failing to protect the interests of all its residents and property owners.
The complaint alleges Wilmette failed in its action plan to provide increased storage capacity of the area's catch basins which would have allegedly prevented the subsequent storm damage those 90 vulnerable structures incurred post completion.
Before the village completed the $68 million dollar flood project in 2019, the residents said they had experienced no significant issues from normal rain or floods.
The complaint asserts the improvement plan, which covers about 98% of residents, left 90 properties west of Ridge Road in a vulnerable position. Improvements, which the village asserted to be a much needed infrastructure project, purportedly put additional strain on the catch basins to such a degree i that even normal rainfall actually increased the likelihood of water damage, and did so during a spring storm, the residents said in their complaint.
The complaint stated that on April 30, 2022, a normal rainy day with typical rainfall, caused significant backup and damage that included not only runoff, but Category 3 "black water," highly contaminated water known to contain runoff, groundwater, and raw sewage which can pose a health risk to humans. Items contaminated by black water require special decontamination or disposal, the complaint said.
The suit accuses the village of allegedly failing to "pump down" prior to the storm, a preventative action item that would have relieved some of the storm basins' capacity concerns. In addition, the plaintiffs claim the village failed to erect temporary barriers to prevent invasive stormwater, and did not adequately store the resulting stormwater. They claimants also assert the village failed in multiple other ways not specifically mentioned in the suit.
Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Wilmette is located 14 miles north of downtown Chicago and reported a population of 28,170 at the 2020 census.
Plaintiffs are demanding a trial by jury and are seeking actual and punitive damages, court costs and legal fees, and a court order requiring the village to include an equal degree of protection from stormwater damage for the 90 impacted locations allegedly excluded in the 2019 improvements.
Plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Daniel I Schlessinger, Maria G. Enriquez, Martin Jaszczuk, of the firm of Jaszczuk P.C., of Chicago.