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Lorraine Varjabedian still hasn’t been paid her judgment.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — Nearly six years after a sewer backup damaged Lorraine Varjabedian‘s ranch style home on Maplewood Road, she is still waiting to be reimbursed for the renovation.
“Not only was my house the only one in Lynn to be filled with waste, it’s been five and a half years,” she said. “When is enough enough?”
Last month, a Essex Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Fahey ordered the city’s Water & Sewer Commission and Procopio Enterprises Inc., a Saugus construction company, to pay Varjabedian a total of $52,653. Both parties have appealed the decision.
The drama started in 2011 when an early morning storm dumped more than four inches of rain in less than 24 hours. It caused the homeowner to awake to the sound of running water in her three-bedroom home.
Sewage rose about 10 inches to the top of the bottom step. A family room, laundry center and a bathroom, as well as walls and doors were destroyed.
The city offered to pay the cleaning bill of nearly $13,000. But Varjabedian insisted the cost of the cleanup, new appliances and renovation was much more and she refused to settle.
The next year, Varjabedian filed suit. Following an investigation, the city discovered the bathroom had been built without permits. In addition, engineers learned stormwater was entering sewer lines in the Boulder Heights neighborhood in contrast to instructions given when the building permits were issued to Procopio, the builder.
The judge found that the commission and the builder were at fault.
Peter Bosse, Procopio’s attorney, declined to comment.
“We bought this house when we were 20,” Varjabedian said.
In her ruling, Judge Fahey found the homeowner’s installation of a bathroom below grade contributed to the incident and reduced the award to half the original claim.
“I sued for $80,000 when, in fact, my loss was more than $120,000 with about $60,000 of that going to lawyers,” Varjabedian said. “Everything went into a dumpster including my wedding gown and many family photographs.”
Samuel Vitali, the attorney for the Water & Sewer Commission, said while the panel is sympathetic, it was their fault.
“We offered to pay for the cleanup, but no good deed goes unpunished and she rejected our offer,” he said. “I have an obligation to protect my client, and they are the 90,000 ratepayers.”
Varjabedian just wants it to be over.
“I’ve lived in this house for 52 years and I’m 73,” she said. “I will be dead by the time this is resolved. Why couldn’t they just pay it?”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at tgrillo@itemlive.com.