An appeals court said residents can pursue a class-action lawsuit against the city of Miramar and a consultant over water that allegedly corroded copper pipes at homes.
A three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned parts of a circuit judge’s decision dismissing the case, which involves water that the city supplied from 2016 to 2022.
The appeals court said residents can pursue a negligence claim against the city and negligence and professional-malpractice claims against Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., a consultant for the city.
The 11-page decision said that plaintiffs in the case represent more than 1,000 homeowners who have properties that received water from the city’s West Water Treatment Plant.
It said the plaintiffs allege the “city owed them a duty to treat the water so that it would be non-corrosive, and [the] consultant owed them a duty to exercise reasonable care in analyzing the water and advising the city.”
The plaintiffs alleged that water was improperly treated and caused irreversible damage to copper pipes.
The decision, shared by Chief Judge Mark Klingensmith and Judges Martha Warner and Alan Forst, cited a legal doctrine and said “the city may be held liable for plaintiffs’ damage, if as alleged, the city negligently maintained, controlled or operated the water treatment system.”
