Defense Verdict in an $8M Clean Water Act Claim on Construction Site.
City of Mountain Park v. Peachtree Residential Properties Inc., et al.
Plaintiff City of Mountain Park filed a Clean Water Act Claim and several state law claims against six upstream developers alleging that the upstream development caused 40,000 cubic yards of silt to leave the construction sites which caused damage to the City’s two lakes and other property. Plaintiff claimed over $8,000,000.00 in damages. After five years of litigation and nearly three weeks of a jury trial, our client, Peachtree Residential Properties, an upstream developer, received a defense verdict. Through historical documentation, photographic analysis, and actual testimony the attorneys at WWHGD were able to prove that the 40,000 cubic yards of sediment were historical sediment that pre-existed our client’s upstream development and the City of Mountain Park was primarily responsible for the sediment problem due to their own failing infrastructure. This has been a well-publicized case in the southeast environmental law circles and the subject of an environmental law seminar.
