Clarke County Democrat

Fulton creek flooding case going to trial next week



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Campbell’s Landing home destroyed by March 17 tornado. Others were damaged. Photo by Roy Waite, Clarke County EMA

Campbell’s Landing home destroyed by March 17 tornado. Others were damaged. Photo by Roy Waite, Clarke County EMA

A suit brought by a group of Fulton homeowners against a Fulton industry may be going to trial in Clarke County Circuit Court next week, starting Monday, March 29.

The homeowners are suing Koppers, Inc, owner of the pole mill on the bank of Bassetts Creek in Fulton, charging that the mill’s poles and pilings washed off of the mill’s yard during a massive flood in April 2018. The poles and pilings floated down the creek and blocked the water flow under the highway bridge, causing several homes to be flooded, the complaint states.

The creek overflowed the night of April 14-15, 2018 following 11 to 12 inches of rainfall.

The plaintiff homeowners are Phillip and Kim Averett, Delrick Berry, Richard Craig Davis, Lisa and Charles Doby, Joe Anthony Lewis, Tina McDonald Lewis, Helen and Willie McRand, Robert Lee and Clara Thomas and Michelle Thompson.

The defendants include Koppers, Inc., owner of the pole mill, Cox Wood of Alabama and Allen Horton of Autagua County, environmental manager of Kopper’s Fulton pole yard.

Some Fulton residents believed poles from the nearby Koppers mill impeded the flow of Bassetts Creek and contributed to heavy flooding in April 2018. Democrat File Photo

Some Fulton residents believed poles from the nearby Koppers mill impeded the flow of Bassetts Creek and contributed to heavy flooding in April 2018. Democrat File Photo

The complaint reads, “As Bassetts Creek rose, it began to pick up and carry the Defendants’ poles and/or pilings, and the Defendants’ byproducts and/or waste products that were recklessly, carelessly, negligently and/or wantonly stored in unsecured stacks or piles adjacent to Bassetts Creek. As the Defendants’ materials were carried downstream by the waters, they became lodged against the Highway 178 bridge in Fulton that crosses over Bassetts Creek.” The materials “formed a dam or blocked that obstructed or obscured the natural flow” and “As a direct result…waters began to back up and flood the Plaintiffs’ properties located north of Highway 178, until the waters reached a level where they then began to overflow Highway 178, and flood the Plaintiffs’ properties south of Highway 178.”

The complaint says the homeowners suffered loss or damage of real and personal property, loss of the use and enjoyment of their property, mental anguish and embarrassment and other losses.

The complaint noted that Koppers has taken no preventive actions and “are still storing or placing their materials in the manner described above.”

The complaint alleges negligence and wantonness on behalf of the defendants and seeks “compensatory and/or punitive damages as a jury deems reasonable.” A specific amount of damages sought is not listed in the complaint.

An engineering study of Fulton’s flooding woes said no one thing caused the flooding — there was no “smoking gun”— but rather a multitude of contributing factors. The study, commissioned by the town of Fulton, was presented to Fulton citizens not long before the suit was filed.

DeAnn Grantham, a project engineer with Southern Engineering Solutions of Andalusia, cited the unusual heavy rainfall, clearcutting and development upsteam and other factors that could have caused the creek to excessively flood.

When asked at the public meeting if Koppers’ poles and pilings could have been a factor, Grantham said anything that impedes the flow” of water could be a problem but added that there was no way to really answer the question without more study.

Because of the large number of plaintiffs, a number of lawyers are involved in the case including attorneys from the Gilmore Law Firm in Grove Hill: Wyman O. “Gil” Gilmore Jr., William R. “Bo” Phillippi III and R. Edwin Lamberth. Other area attorneys include Jeff Utsey, Halron Turner, and Tatum Turner.

Weyman Williams McCranie is the attorney for the defense.

Judge Collins Pettaway is the trial judge.

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