GUILDERLAND — Guilderland’s stormwater-management issues have once again invited legal action against the town.

The action seeks $100,000 in damages.

In a Nov. 6 notice filed with the Albany County Supreme Court, Fletcher Road residents Nancy and Jesse Moran claim the town, a number of its individual departments and employees, and a local builder are responsible for damage from flooding that occurred at their home twice in August of last year. 

The notice was filed pro se, meaning the Morans are self-represented. 

The Morans claim the damage was caused or exacerbated by Guilderland’s negligent design and maintenance of its roadways and drainage, negligent management of storm waters, and negligent approval of a nearby Fletcher Road property.

James Mellita, the town’s attorney, did not immediately respond to The Enterprise for comment.

A pattern

This is at least the fourth time in the past 18 months that a legal action has been filed against the town over infrastructure maintenance issues. 

In May 2024, a pair of local residents sought and received permission from the court to serve Guilderland with a late notice of claim for damages they said were due to the town’s mismanagement of its water systems.

In letters to the town, the Cuyler Court couple, William and Colleen Anders, explained that the town’s highway department used their driveway to access and clean out a storm-drain catchment, a request that was not made by the Anders but rather by their “neighbors that were experiencing yard flooding due to the excessive rain.” The Anderses claimed that their own basement was flooded twice in December 2023 “due to significant pooling of water caused by the failure” of the town’s highway department to repair the culvert “to properly disperse runoff.”

The May 2024 petition filed by the Anders claimed the town’s July 2023 use of heavy equipment caused damage to their driveway and yard, which, when combined with Guilderland’s “negligence and failure to maintain certain components” of those facilities, led to “significant flooding” of the Anders’ basement six months later. 

The judge OK’d the late-notice-of-claim request; the suit is ongoing. 

In October 2024, a pair of McKownville residents filed a suit that claimed the town’s negligence in maintaining its stormwater-management system resulted in significant property damage and potential structural harm to their Glenwood Street home.

In the suit, Elliot and Adrienne Haase claimed that, in July 2023, their basement was flooded with four feet of water due to unresolved issues in the stormwater system. The suit also alleged that subsequent weather events following the incident continued to exacerbate the damage to the property.

The Haases claim that the town had knowledge of the issues because they filed a notice of claim within the required 90-day window, but the town failed to take timely corrective measures. The suit notes the ongoing issues with flooding in McKownville, pointing to a 2010 Delaware Engineering study as evidence. 

The lawsuit, quoting the 2010 study, states, “McKownville has historically experienced ongoing drainage problems due to over development that has impacted residents for many years.”

The study was part of a multi-million-dollar project to address chronic basement flooding in McKownville. The project was completed in 2022. The town is currently looking to fund a $500,000 study to find solutions to flooding around Stuyvesant Plaza, located in McKownville. 

The Haases’ case was sent to a mediator. 

Also located in McKownville, across Western Avenue from Stuyvesant Plaza is Burger King, which filed a lawsuit against Guilderland in March, claiming the town was on the hook for its hefty contractor bill and revenue loss caused by flooding in the area.

The complaint from Carrols LLC, owner of over 1,000 Burger King outlets, claimed Guilderland was owner of, and therefore responsible for, a 36-inch corrugated metal pipe (CMP) running under its Western Avenue location, and that the pipe’s failure caused significant flooding and erosion on the property, which forced the closure of its drive-thru service and resulted in financial losses. 

The six-month drive-thru closure resulted in a $400,000 revenue loss,  the company claimed, while repair of the pipe and the pumping of accumulating stormwater cost over $1 million. 

Carrols asked that the court “enter judgment in its favor against the Town of Guilderland for the reasonable costs to repair the failed 36-inch CMP, the reasonable costs associated with safely pumping and removing the stormwater from the flooded depression, and its loss of income.”

The suit is ongoing.