Ridgewood Water Lawsuit Trial Begins April 5

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. – A class action lawsuit filed against Ridgewood Water by three of the municipalities it serves will go to trial April 5 in Bergen County Superior Court.

Ridgewood Water, a public utility owned by the Village of Ridgewood, provides water to Ridgewood, Wyckoff, Glen Rock, and Midland Park. The suit, filed on behalf of ratepayers in 2011, seeks the complete repeal of the utility’s 37 percent rate increase since 2010. Ridgewood representatives claim the increase was necessary for the utility to stay solvent. Ratepayers claim the utility artificially inflated its costs and cost them millions of dollars.

Related: Lawsuit Challenges Ridgewood Water Rate Increase

Former Wyckoff Mayor Joseph B. Fiorenzo, an attorney with Sills Cummis & Gross who is representing Wyckoff in the case, said the trial is projected to last “a couple of weeks.” Judge Lisa Perez Friscia will preside over the trial.

“Rather, Ridgewood has been bilking the taxpayers of Wyckoff, Glen Rock, and Midland Park by having the ratepayers pay for a substantial portion of the operating expenses by the Village of Ridgewood,” Fiorenzo said.

If the increases are deemed invalid, Fiorenzo said Ridgewood should have to refund millions of dollars to ratepayers.

Related: Ridgewood Water Lawsuit Continues To Drag On

The mayors of Wyckoff and Glen Rock, Midland Park council members, and municipal administrators from those towns and Ridgewood met with retired Judge Peter E. Doyne Jan. 8 to try and settle the lawsuit. Ridgewood elected officials did not attend the meeting. The lack of Ridgewood elected officials made it “impossible to have a meaningful dialogue regarding the lawsuit,” Fiorenzo previously said.