507 Missouri Ave. in East St. Louis
An East St. Louis woman whose property sustained extensive flooding is suing American Water Works Service Co. for failing to shut off service as requested.
Betty Mays claims in a $50,000 lawsuit filed Oct. 11 in St. Clair County Circuit Court that she instructed the water company to shut off service to her property at 507 Missouri Ave. in July 2006.
Her account was closed and billing had been discontinued "which conduct caused plaintiff to believe that water service had in fact been discontinued at said building," the complaint states.
According to the suit, the building flooded in February because American Water Works had not shut off water service to the building.
"That as a result therof, the plaintiff's building was flooded, greatly damaging and otherwise destroying the structure both internally and externally and the plaintiff was and has been denied all use of said building past, present and future, all to plaintiff's damage," the complaint states.
Mays is represented by Philip R. Rice of the Rice Law Offices in East St. Louis.