St Joseph couple wins partial lawsuit against WASA
A couple from St Joseph has partially succeeded in their bid to receive compensation after their retaining wall and tank stand were damaged by a faulty Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) connection in 2019.
Mary and Vibert Stephens’ negligence lawsuit against the authority was set to go on trial before Justice Jacqueline Wilson last Friday when WASA’s lawyers offered to compensate them for the damage.
The authority agreed to pay $229,102.77, which represented the costs of geotechnical reports, estimates, and repairs. It also agreed to $50,000 in general damages.
However, it refused to pay an additional $192,000 in compensation for the loss of rent earnings for four ground-floor apartments in the couple’s three-storey apartment building since the incident.
After considering the evidence in relation to the couple’s additional claim, Justice Wilson dismissed it.
According to the evidence, the Stephens, who hold T&T and United States citizenship, acquired the land and constructed the building to earn extra income and have a place to stay on their regular visits to Trinidad.
Between 2009 and 2010, the couple constructed a tank stand and retaining wall.
On July 25, 2017, they noticed water freely flowing from the weeping holes in the wall.
They claimed that they contacted the authority, and a team visited the property to assess the situation.
The retaining wall and the tank stand collapsed the following day before the authority’s staff could return to conduct repairs.
The couple, through their lawyers Yaseen Ahmed and Tara Lutchman, filed a lawsuit alleging that WASA was negligent in failing to maintain the connection and to immediately repair the leak after being notified.
In its defence, the authority denied any wrongdoing. It claimed that the damage was not caused by the connection and that the wall and tank stand were poorly constructed.
“The defendant specifically denies that it has either caused or contributed to the loss of the claimants, which loss is denied, and the claimants are put to strict proof of their alleged loss,” WASA’s lawyer, Christlyn Moore, said.
Although WASA also agreed to pay the couple almost $50,000 in legal costs for bringing the lawsuit, it was reduced by $16,200 as the couple unsuccessfully contested the loss of rental earnings aspect of the case after WASA’s settlement offer.
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