Lake Santeetlah – A local municipality has filed a civil lawsuit against a pair of property owners, alleging the improper burial of a sewer line last fall.
The Town of Lake Santeetlah is seeking a court's decision in its favor that Jack and Connie Gross engaged in trespassing; wrongful interference with a public street and water system; abatement of nuisance; declaratory relief; quiet title; and injunctive relief, after the couple allegedly had a private sewer line installed on Nantahala Terrace over the weekend of Sept. 14 – without the town's consent.
In the filing, town attorney Craig Justus said that both the municipality and Jack Gross "engaged in talks about a license agreement that related to Gross installing a septic line underneath Nantahala Terrace to connect Lot 13 and Lot 14 for a private septic system. Said license agreement was never completed or signed."
The paperwork states that Gross later "backed out of executing a license agreement because Gross did not want to acknowledge that Nantahala Terrace was a public street." Included in the filing are documents filed with North Carolina's Powell Bill program – a statute that has been on the books since 1951, which maintains that city and town streets are part of the state's public roads system, and should be maintained as such by the N.C. Department of Transportation – and a list of Lake Santeetlah's road network, including the 0.09-mile-long Nantahala Terrace.
The sewer line allegedly runs above a pipe connecting to the town's main water system, which – if true – is a violation of 15A NCAC 18E .0601 (location of wastewater systems). The location is mandated by the code to be a 10-foot setback.
The pipe is still underground.
According to the town's financial statements, the case has already cost the town $18,703.78 in legal fees.
Responses
The Gross' answers to the filing seem to center around one strong belief: Nantahala Terrace is not a public road.
As part of the town's filing, a photograph displaying a post with signs that say "Private Drive, Private Property" and "Private Property, No Trespassing" has been placed on what the town is calling its right-of-way, just outside the Gross' residence. As of Tuesday, the sign was still in place.
The couple makes their stance known when responding to allegation No. 18 in the town's filing, "Plaintiff owes a duty to the public at large (including the inhabitants of its territory), not a specific individual, to properly maintain, repair and/or improve its public roadways and the Water System."
"It is admitted that the Plaintiff has certain duties to the public at large, however, it is denied that what Plaintiff identifies as "Nantahala Terrace" constitutes a public roadway," reads the defendant's response.
The Gross' also "denied that the non-public nature of Nantahala Terrace was the sole factor" behind the decision to not reach a licensing agreement with the town for the sewer pipe.
On Sept. 10, Town of Lake Santeetlah Administrator Kim Matheson emailed Jack Gross and said the municipality had been advised of his plan to utilize a local contractor to install the pipe. Matheson emphasized that the license agreement had not been signed and the town would view the action as trespassing on its property if the action took place.
The Gross' denied that Matheson "had the right to require such a written agreement."
The couple is seeking a jury trial in the matter, as well as any legal costs associated with the case be paid by the Town of Lake Santeetlah.
Discovery requests were issued by the town March 20, with an extension order granted for the defendants March 25. The couple has until Tuesday, May 19 to respond to the discovery process.
The Gross' are being represented by Asheville-based attorney Clint Cogburn with Ward and Smith, P.A.