Judge Tosses Royal Oak Water Customers' Lawsuit Over Fees

ROYAL OAK, MI – A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Royal Oak for assessing city water customers for user and debt service fees for the city’s share of a regional drain system treatment facilities.

The lawsuit could have cost the city from $7 million to $9 million, City Manager Dan Johnson told The Daily Tribune.

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The George W. Kuhn Drain District treatment facility, upgraded nearly a decade ago to meet federal requirements on storm and sewage water disposal, serves Royal Oak and more than a dozen other area cities. Each member city must pay a portion of debt service to retire bonds on the upgrade.

Royal Oak City Attorney Mark Liss said dismissal “is essentially saying the plaintiffs didn’t have any basis of law to sue the city.”

A lawyer for lead plaintiff Andrew Schroeder and others in the class action lawsuit reportedly plan to appeal the decision.

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