Haddonfield Loses $21.8M Lawsuit; Faulty Drainage System Flooded Homes, Jury Says

HADDONFIELD, NJ — The owners of four Haddonfield homes significantly damaged by flooding won a $21.8 million judgement last week against the borough.

During a rainstorm in June 2019, stormwater and sewage inundated the residents' properties on Lafayette Avenue and Heritage Road, according to the lawsuit. The homes still have "a stench of flooding and human waste," which has made the properties effectively worthless and unlivable, said Robert Sokolove, an attorney representing the plaintiffs.

Before the storm, Haddonfield and a private water utility failed to maintain a drainage system in the back of the properties, the lawsuit says. The drainage system, which directed additional water to the properties, led to flooding that wouldn't have occurred naturally, according to court documents.

During a public meeting in March 2020, the borough and its engineers told the homeowners that "the flooding could happen again" and admitted that "we could have done multiple things to reduce the impact." The borough also said it had no logs of maintaining the drainage pipes because "our records are not maintained very well," the lawsuit says.

The residents were informed at the meeting that "the flooding can happen again and again."

A 10-member jury unanimously ruled in the plaintiffs' favor following a trial last month in Camden County Superior Court.

Three of the homes are still occupied by the plaintiffs, who were waiting for the legal matter to resolve before moving out, Sokolove said. One of the houses was destroyed.

"They’re living in houses that can’t, won’t and shouldn’t be sold," Sokolove told Patch. "Those houses should be taken down, and that whole area should probably be turned into an indoor retention pod, because that’s really what it is."

A spokesperson for the borough declined comment when contacted by Patch.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of four families: Michael and Denise Amons; Stephen J. and Marlee H. Lick; John Crowe; and Eric and Peter Weber and the estate of the late Charles Weber.

The plaintiffs reached a settlement in February with New Jersey American Water, which operated Haddonfield's wastewater system. Terms of the settlement have not been disclosed.