Flooding Lawsuit Against City of Elmhurst is Dismissed

A DuPage County judge on Dec. 8 threw out a lawsuit by an Elmhurst resident blaming city officials for flood-related damage his home suffered during summer storms in 2010.

sued the city, claiming it has been negligent in its operation of the storm sewer system and that those conditions caused his basement to flood during heavy rains in June and July 2010. Arezina's case was filed as a class action lawsuit, and he held a meeting last September to encourage residents to come forward and join the class if they had flooding damage.

The city responded that it was protected by the state's immunity law because it had no advanced notice of the conditions that caused Arezina's situation.

Using language from the Tort Immunity Act, the city stated it cannot be held liable unless proven it had “actual or constructive notice of the existence of such a condition that is not reasonably safe in reasonably adequate time prior to an injury to have taken measures to remove or protect against such conditions,” according to its motion to dismiss filed Oct. 17.

Judge Patrick Leston agreed with the city's position during the Dec. 8 hearing.

Arezina's attorney said he would consult with Arezina to decide whether to ask Leston to reconsider his ruling or to file an amended lawsuit.

Elmhurst Park District also is facing a flooding-related lawsuit. State Farm Insurance is claiming the district allowed piles of wood chips to collect in sewer grates causing flooding in homes. In a motion to dismiss filed Oct. 7, the Park District also is claiming it is protected by the Tort Immunity Act. The motion said it cannot be sued because there is no evidence to suggest it knew of the wood chip piles, and that it has nothing to do with the city sewer system.

That case will be in court next week.