Judge rules against city in water lawsuit

Posted by Rural Water Alliance

Service Area(s): legal

A federal judge ruled against the City of Chillicothe in a more than six month long dispute with Ross County Water Co.

Judge Michael Watson, a federal judge overseeing the Southern District of Ohio, said in a preliminary ruling the City of Chillicothe contractually agreed to relinquish any rights it might have to the area around Hospital and Delano roads. The area is the site of a large piece of land owned by Cloverleaf Development. The 20-page ruling was released Tuesday afternoon.

The basis of the ruling stems from a contract signed by the Chillicothe mayor and Ross County Water in 1971. The contract was to establish a non-competitive water service that specifically states Chillicothe is to serve the hospital site (currently Adena Regional Medical Center) and the Colomet Industrial site (now Classic Brands) and Ross County Water Co. would serve the remaining area.

During testimony in court, the city argued the contract was outdated and invalid because Chillicothe City Council never approved the contract; however, Watson's opinion did not agree with the city.

His ruling found both the city and Ross County Water Co. have operated under the terms of this agreement for 35 years, yet only now is the city disputing the validity of the contract.

"It would be unjust to allow Chillicothe to dispute the validity of a contract it has operated in accordance with for over 35 years..." the ruling said. In an earlier section of the ruling, Watson also said Ross County Water had interest in the area first.

"The Plaintiff's water distribution lines that make service available to the disputed area were already in place, and have been for over 35 years - long before the City of Chillicothe became interested in serving the needs of the folks in the disputed area," it said.

The ruling was a clear victory, said Ross County Water attorney Dennis O'Toole. He said development in the area has been difficult for Ross County Water because they didn't know where the city planned to construct lines.

Click here to download the complete judge's order. (1mb / PDF format)

This article originally appeared in the Chillicothe Gazette, on February 11, 2009.
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