A class action lawsuit was filed against the city of Sioux Falls by owner and renters who suffered from flood damage in 2004. The lawsuit alleges that Sioux Falls did not keep up with storm and sanitary sewer maintenance, causing the water and sewage to back up into basements.
The owners and renters of the city suffered from flood damage in 2004 have mailed out almost 30,000 letters to the households in the area of Sioux Falls bordered by 57th street on the south, Russell avenue to the north, Kiwanis Avenue to the west and Southeastern avenue to the east. The letters will soon show up in thousands of Sioux Falls mailboxes. The letter explains how residents who had property damaged during the rainfall in May and June of 2004 can hold the city responsible.
Representatives of the owners and renters said that the letters are very important as this is one opportunity to hold the city accountable for what happened.
More than 400 residents asked the city for help cleaning up in the days and weeks following the floods. Many filed flood claims hoping the city's insurance would help pay for those losses. However, the city denied most of those claims, saying the rainfall and following flood problems were an act of God.
Representatives of the owners and renters stressed that the suit would not have been brought if the claims would have been addressed in a uniform and proportionate manner.
Now, residents will have the option to join in the lawsuit, and courts will ultimately decide if the city's to blame for damaged basements and lost property.