WINFIELD – Two members of a Putnam County family say a town's alleged improper maintenance of a storm sewer has flooded their property.
Allen Atkinson and Anita Atkinson filed a lawsuit April 18 in Putnam Circuit Court against the town of Poca, alleging negligence and breach of contract.
According to the complaint, after the Atkinsons purchased property in Putnam County from their grandfather on Jan. 1, 2010, the property was flooded several times by backed-up storm sewage water. The suit says the plaintiffs have not only been forced to pay for removal of the overflow water, but have also been forced to remove tenants from the property because of the threat of continued flooding. They also claim that the flooding is caused by the town’s improper maintenance of the storm sewage system, a problem that never occurred during the previous 30 years of their grandfather’s ownership.
The Atkinsons seek punitive and compensatory damages to be determined by a jury trial. They are represented by attorney James M. Pierson of Pierson Legal Services in Charleston.
Putnam Circuit Court Case number 16-C-90
