EAST ST. LOUIS – St. Clair County Chief Judge Andrew Gleeson dissolved Commonfields water district but didn’t do it correctly, according to a federal lawsuit alleging damage from floods of rain and sewage.
On Jan. 13, plaintiff attorney Mary Rock of Chicago claimed critical information was missing about how debts and liabilities were handled.
Rock alleges dissolution wasn’t the end of potential liability for Commonfields.
Last year, the city of Cahokia Heights absorbed Commonfields after voters created the city by merging Cahokia, Centreville, and Alorton.
Commonfields denied its existence in a motion to dismiss Rock’s suit in October.
She opposed the motion on Jan. 13, claiming trustees who dissolve a water district must file a statement of closing transactions with the circuit court.
“Then, if the circuit court approves the statement, it must issue an order dissolving the district,” she wrote.
She claimed Gleeson entered an order on Dec. 1, finding the district submitted a report pursuant to the Public Water District Act and he was satisfied with it.
“However, there is no report or statement of closing transactions in the docket for this circuit court as required by the Act, and counsel for Commonfields has not produced the required statement,” she wrote.
“It cannot be the case that Commonfields can dissolve after being sued to avoid liability.”
She claimed a transfer agreement between Commonfields and Cahokia Heights appeared to be signed by the same person on behalf of both.
She claimed Illinois corporations could be sued five years after dissolution.
“Commonfields fails to acknowledge that its insurance coverage could cover the residents’ claims for damages,” she wrote.
She claimed she notified Lexington Insurance and QBE Specialty Insurance that Commonfields was potentially liable for damages.
Rock represents Centreville Citizens for Change, a group that sued Cahokia Heights and Commonfields along with 31 individual plaintiffs in July.
Attorneys Nicole Nelson of Belleville and Kalila Jackson of St. Louis represent the individuals.
The complaint alleges negligence and violation of national clean water law.
Cahokia Heights retained Brian Funk of O’Fallon, who answered in October that the complaint was unintelligible.
Funk claimed the city shouldn’t spend time and resources “taking on the impossible task of attempting to determine which allegations belong to which claims.”
He argued that claims against Commonfields were moot.
On Dec. 1, Gleeson signed the dissolution order.
Commonfields retained Stephen Luehrs of Chicago, who moved to dismiss claims against the district on Dec. 14.
He attached Gleeson’s order and claimed there was nobody in authority to respond to allegations or respond to discovery requests.
On the same date when Rock opposed that motion, she moved for leave to amend and supplement the complaint.
She stated that she would allege facts related to the dissolution and an overflow at North 82nd Street. She also claimed she would add Metro East Sanitary District as defendant for failure to complete maintenance duties.
District Judge David Dugan presides.