CLEVELAND — Its been years in the making — News 5 Investigators have uncovered the harsh truths behind the Cleveland Water Department’s business practices, and now a federal judge made a critical ruling in a civil lawsuit filed against the department.
In our ongoing series “Drowning in Dysfunction,” our reporting led to a federal lawsuit claiming the water department violated Cleveland customers’ civil, fair housing, and due process rights. The new ruling states Cleveland Water has had big problems with billing and water bill tax liens that threaten people’s homes.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
THE PLAINTIFFS: SOMETHING WAS WRONG
Albert Pickett is a named plaintiff in the NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s lawsuit. In 2019, we reported on Pickett’s mom leaving him a home and an unpaid water bill that eventually led to shutting the water off for six years.
“They know what they’re doing, and they have no sympathy for the lower-class people,” said Pickett back then.
Jarome Montgomery is also named in the suit that points to the problems.
“They say it’s very racial what (Cleveland Water is) doing,” said Jarome during an interview years ago. “It’s systematic what they’re doing, and like it’s out to the Black neighborhoods and to the Black folks, like they’re the ones getting the liens put on their homes.”
THE JUDGE: 'ADVERSE EFFECT...ON BLACK HOMEOWNERS'
As we follow through on this story, now a new ruling by Federal Judge Solomon Oliver agrees, stating “Plaintiffs’ have set forth evidence demonstrating that Defendant’s water lien policy has a significant, adverse, and disproportionate effect on Black homeowners and residents.”
The judge also said, “Defendant’s placement of a water lien not only potentially makes housing unavailable by significantly increasing an individual’s risk of municipal tax foreclosure, but it also increases the costs associated with home ownership by imposing subsequent costs associated with the assessment of the water lien.”
That’s something Odessa Parks, who’s also named in the suit, told us in 2019.
“Yeah, they’ll have to take the house,” she said. “I can’t come up with more than $10,000.”
20,000 LETTERS RETURNED PER MONTH
The judge also ruled Cleveland Water’s claims of it trying to contact customers is not good enough, with “…an average of 20,000 letters per month pertaining to billing statements and final notices are returned as undeliverable.”
The judge also wrote that while Cleveland Water said it uses water-bill liens to avoid long-term water shutoffs, in reality, “the record is devoid of any evidence detailing whether the lien process actually shortens service interruptions…(and) how much time the lien actually decreases services interruptions…”
Pickett told us years ago, Cleveland Water and its business tactics have done tremendous harm to him and so many others in the city.
“I feel that it’s a disgrace to humanity,” he said.
The ruling comes at a crucial point when we have reported Cleveland Water has resumed putting water-bill liens on people’s properties after there was a moratorium on the liens during the pandemic.
NOW IT'S A CLASS-ACTION SUIT
So, what does the ruling mean? The city had asked for a summary judgment on this case that would basically stop it from going through the court process, but the judge denied that motion. So, that means the suit, which has not been ruled a class-action suit, can move forward.
Meanwhile, the city gave no comment when asked today about the ruling.
You can read the judge's ruling in full here.
