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Seattle Washington Environmental Law Attorneys

"I was most impressed with how totally prepared SGB was at trial and how the attorneys presented the case. Although they were dealing with very technical issues, our attorneys made the case understandable to jurors. The verdict was evidence that their approach worked."

SEEKING A SAFE WATER SUPPLY FOR HIS FAMILY AND COMMUNITY
Safe, clean drinking water is something that most people take for granted. But for the 59 households of the Valley Meadows subdivision in rural southwest Washington, it was no longer a given when their water supplier, American Water Resources, didn't take the necessary steps to protect the supply.

In Washington, water system operators are required to test their supply every month. If the test is positive for bacteria, retesting is required. With another positive hit, users are put on a "boil water" order until the problem is cleared up. Residents of Valley Meadows were put on such an order in December 1998—for 10 months. The water system's history of intermittent contamination pointed to a need for a continuous chlorination system. But American Water Resources resisted installing a permanent system, claiming lack of money to do so. To add insult to injury, even after the supplier finally installed a permanent chlorinator, it operated erratically, with significant spikes in the amount of chlorine added to the system.

"When someone's providing something as essential as water, they've got you over a barrel," said resident Scott Tinney. "If you don't like your cable company, you can switch to satellite, but that's not the case with water. Most days I'd get up and could still smell chlorine. I'd get in the shower and it'd burn my eyes. I had heard that SGB had experience in a similar case, so I contacted them."

Scott Tinney was instrumental in getting other residents involved in the class action suit, as was attorney Corrie Yackulic, who met regularly with residents.

"Corrie alleviated a lot of fears and concerns that people had. People realized that SGB was a law firm willing to take a risk on the case because they believed it was something worth fighting for. She was really passionate about it and it was clear it was an issue close to her heart, that people deserve clean, safe drinking water," Scott said.

"Most attorneys wouldn't have the expertise to take this type of case on," said attorney Adam Berger. "You're dealing with rules and regulations and operations of governmental agencies, as well as technical language from hydrologists, engineers, and the like. These types of cases necessitate a familiarity with science and the ability to translate the information for a jury to understand. We were able to show that the company put growth ahead of service."

The trial, which lasted about nine days, concluded in January 2003. Ultimately, the company fought a problem that could have taken just $15,000 and 45 days to fix. Instead, the jury found for the plaintiffs and awarded $600,000, plus attorney fees.