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Archdale

It is mid-October, and that means that it's time for the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, that great crew race on the Charles River. Thirteen years ago this weekend, the Regatta was cancelled (I think for the first time ever) because of extremely heavy rainfall. The rainfall overwhelmed Boston's high-level sewer system, causing raw sewage to gush out of manholes and flood the basements and backyards of a low-lying area in Roslindale, Massachusetts, damaging real estate and destroying many people's personal belongings.

The affected residents in the Archdale Road neighborhood of Roslindale contacted the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Network, which put them in touch with a sole practitioner/environmental lawyer named Jamy Buchanan. Jamy approached an environmental lawyer in my firm for help in resolving the residents' claims against the the two agencies responsible for the sewer system, and that lawyer put her in touch with me. Because the neighborhood was a low-income area, Jamy and my firm agreed to represent the Archdale residents on a pro bono basis.

It turned out to be a long but rewarding commitment. Within two or three years, the agencies made improvements to the sewerage system that reduced the risk of further overflows. However, they were initially unwilling to pay for our clients' losses, citing the "discretionary function" and "act of God" doctrines that they believed immunized them from liability. In 1999, we filed suit on behalf of approximately 200 individuals who lost property and money as a result of the floods. After years of discovery, motion practice and mediation, the agencies agreed to settle. I appreciated the way the agencies handled the case - initially taking significant measures to protect the neighborhood from a recurrence, while appropriately asserting their important defenses, and ultimately compensating the residents for their losses.

Every year at this time I think about the great work that Jamy and the lawyers and paralegals on my team performed in handling this important pro bono case, and about the good people of Roslindale who found justice at long last. As we enter another rainy October weekend, I take some comfort in knowing that there has not been another flood like this since 1996, and that the improvements to the system should keep the residents safe from it happening again. Although our litigation team received no financial reward for all the time and effort we put into the case, I think the others feel as I do that it was one of the most rewarding experiences of our careers.

Comments

  1. UnknownNovember 14, 2019 at 4:07 PM

    I lived on Delford in 1996. I was 11 and this flood left us ruined. Thank you for this. So many of us are still hurt because it was never healed. Thank you for reminding us about the good that came out

    ReplyDelete

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