CLEVELAND — A major federal lawsuit against the Cleveland Division of Water, which claimed it discriminated against Black customers, is about to be settled for $3 million.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which brought the suit on behalf of some water customers in 2019, said the News 5 Investigators’ series “Drowning in Dysfunction” was instrumental in getting that suit going.
The class action lawsuit claimed rampant water shutoffs, widespread overbilling and the destruction of neighborhoods by placing liens on homes with overdue bills.
Court documents obtained by News 5 Investigators show a recent hearing outlining the settlement, including $1.2 million in attorneys' fees and $1.8 million in damages for the plaintiffs, like Albert Pickett, who went six years without water in his home because of a water lien.
“They had no concern about my life, my welfare or anything,” said Pickett in a 2019 interview with News 5.
Another plaintiff is Jarome Montgomery, who faced thousands in water liens
“The plumber also told me my water meter wasn’t even hooked up and they were lying about my charges because how can they read something if it’s not hooked up?” Montgomery said back in 2019.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s attorney, Jason Bailey, has previously told us the “Drowning in Dysfunction” stories immediately impacted him. He said Cleveland Water disproportionately affected minorities and didn’t provide due process to contest their bills.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb was not the mayor at the time of the court filing, but said this Thursday about the settlement:
“This has been a fight the city has been engaged in for a long time. And I'm just really happy we got to, I think, a pragmatic settlement and pragmatic compromise to satisfy all parties around the lawsuit," Bibb said.
The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said there are a few more steps before the settlement is finalized, and when it is, it will talk to us about how this all happened.
