The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has been ordered to pay a little over $1.7 million in compensation to a woman from east Port-of-Spain, whose house was destroyed by a burst water main.
High Court Judge Joan Charles ordered significant compensation for Janet Rousseau, of Upper Pashley Street, Success Village, Laventille, as she upheld her lawsuit against WASA on Monday.
According to the evidence in the case, shortly after Rousseau completed the construction of her home in December 2003, she noticed cracks in the walls.
She reportedly contacted WASA, as she allegedly suspected that the damage was caused by a burst water main near her property.
By the time the leak was repaired in November 2007, irreparable damage had already been done to her home.
Rousseau’s land was eventually valued at $200,000, as the building suffered extreme structural damage and was expected to imminently collapse.
In the lawsuit, Rousseau claimed that WASA breached its statutory duty to repair water fittings under the Water and Sewerage Act. She also contended that WASA’s actions constituted a nuisance, as they impacted on her right to use and enjoy her land.
In its defence, WASA denied any wrongdoing, as it claimed that the damage to Rousseau’s home was not caused by the leaking pipeline but rather due to the sloping topography of the land it was built upon.
In determining the case, Justice Charles noted that Rousseau had established on a balance of probabilities that the damage was caused by the authority’s leaking pipeline.
“I also hold that the Defendant was negligent in that it breached its duty of care to the Claimant by failing to repair its broken mains, which caused the water flowing therefrom to seep into and saturate the soil under the Claimant’s house, thereby leading to the subsistence of said soil and destruction of her house,” she said.
Justice Charles noted that while Rousseau and her witnesses were consistent and credible, the testimony of WASA’s witnesses was riddled with inconsistencies and discrepancies.
“None of the evidence adduced by the Defendant was able to weaken the Claimant’s case that her house had been destroyed by water leaking onto her property from the Defendant’s water main. I noted, in particular, that the evidence of the Defendant’s experts were of little or no value,” Justice Charles said.
“I am of the view that the Defendant should not have forced the Claimant to take this case to trial, given that it was more than likely that her house had been destroyed as a result of the Defendant’s leaking water main.”
Justice Charles ordered WASA to pay $120,000 in compensation for the breach of its statutory duty and $150,000 for causing a nuisance. She also ordered $933,561 in special damages, which represented the cost associated with a replacement home for Rousseau.
As part of her decision in the case, Justice Charles ordered WASA to pay three per cent interest per annum on the compensation between 2009 and yesterday.
WASA was also ordered to pay the legal costs incurred by Rousseau in pursuing the case.
Rousseau was represented by Keith Scotland and Karina Dookie, while Robin Otway and Summer Sandy represented WASA.
