Court Greenlights Water Shutoff Lawsuit

A court decided last week that a woman whose water service was shut off is allowed to sue Syracuse for that action.

“A federal appeals court has ruled that a Syracuse woman whose water was shut off when her landlord failed to pay the bill can continue to sue the city. Jacqueline Winston, a 40-year-old mom, sued the city of Syracuse in February 2016 after her family went for three days with no water,” The Post-Standard reported.

“Winston is the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit filed by Legal Services of Central New York. A federal judge in Binghamton ruled against Winston in September. She appealed to the Second Circuit,” the report said.

The viability of water shutoffs is a timely issue in the water sector because affordability is one of the greatest challenges facing utilities and ratepayers. In a recent study, researchers found that water may become unaffordable for one-third of U.S. households in the next four years.

Shutoffs are an unpopular approach to ratepayer delinquency. When Detroit began an aggressive shut-off campaign in 2014, the United Nations condemned the city’s actions as a human rights violation, according to Michigan Live.

For Winston, the water shutoff came as a surprise.

When a nearly $500 overdue bill arrived, she spoke to a maintenance person at her building. She was assured the landlord would pay it. A month later, however, her water was shut off.

“After three days, Winston sued the city. She said Syracuse violated her constitutional rights by shutting off her water service due to her landlord's inaction,” The Post-Standard reported.

“The city asked U.S. District Court Judge Thomas McAvoy to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing its policies were financially sound, and the city needed to be able to shut off water to collect unpaid utility bills,” the report continued.

The U.S. District Court sided with the city, but the Second Circuit Court reversed that ruling, so the lawsuit can proceed.