After five years of preliminary court proceedings, the operators of an East Ridge apartment complex and the Hamilton County Waste Water Treatment Authority are essentially back at square one in their fight over an $8 monthly charge the WWTA introduced in 2011 to pay for infrastructure upgrades.
The Supreme Court of Tennessee said Friday that American Heritage Apartments Inc. can file suit against the WWTA in court. The Court of Appeals previously ruled that the apartment owners could sue in a class action suit, but WWTA had appealed to the higher court.
The Supreme Court decision also kicked back to a local trial court the decision of whether to allow class action status on the suit.
American Heritage’s complaint is rooted in the monthly $8 charge WWTA introduced in 2011 to its 26,000 customers to spread the costs of doing mandatory infrastructure upgrades as ordered by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation following storm and rainwater issues addressed in 2008.
American Heritage challenged the new $8 monthly charge in 2011, which would cost its property, Park Ridge Apartments in East Ridge, an estimated $289,000 over the span of 20 years.