This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
A fight over a city's mistake when it installed a sewer line – on the wrong property – has gotten worse in Oklahoma, and city residents now are each being billed $10 a month so officials can continue their legal war.
The Institute for Justice reported a short time ago that it was helping Melisa Robinson go to court – AGAIN – to collect what the Oklahoma Supreme Court already has ruled a city owes her.
The problem is that an entity run by the city of Okay, its Public Works Authority, was ruled by the high court to owe Robinson $73,000 damages – now $200,000 including interest, for having its workers dig "a sewer line" on a small mobile home community owned by Robinson.
There was no permission, no authorization for that to have happened.
The city previously said its Public Works division is a trust, and while it may owe Robinson money, that division's assets all are owned by the city, and they deny any responsibility.
The newest development, according to the IJ, is that the city council voted to add a $10 surcharge, indefinitely, to all water customers.
It's not to pay the judgment, but to "pay its attorneys to continue fighting a lawsuit" from Robinson.
"The city did not let anyone from the public speak during the meeting about the surcharge. In 2022, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Okay Public Works Authority owed Melisa just compensation after it damaged and took her property when it replaced sewer lines without legal authorization. For years the city refused to pay, forcing Melisa to file another federal lawsuit with the Institute for Justice (IJ)," the legal team reported.
"It's beyond belief that Okay would rather raise a surcharge to pay their attorneys rather than pay me what the court already says they owe," Robinson said. "I don't think its right to charge the public to continue a fight they know is wrong to begin with. But if the city can do this to me, they can do it to anyone else."
The city claims the extra bills will cost residents about $30,000 a year.
"After years in court, Melisa Robinson was overjoyed when the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the city of Okay owed her family $73,000 for taking their property. Melisa's family are the long-time owners of a small mobile home community that was damaged in 2009 when Okay workers dug a sewer line on it without any legal authorization," IJ reported.
The lawyers explained, "The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution says the government must pay for what it takes, and that means it must pay in cash—not hand over a worthless IOU."
"As long as the city refuses to pay Melisa the just compensation she's owed, it continues to violate the Fifth Amendment," said IJ Attorney Brian Morris. "And now, by trying to blame Melisa for the costs of litigation the city itself created, it's sending a clear message to the residents of Okay: If you try to stand up for your constitutional rights, we'll come after you in more ways than just one."
The Constitution doesn't allow governments to take private property without "just compensation."
"In Melisa's case, Okay began digging a brand-new sewer line on her property—without obtaining permission and without giving notice. (The Trust owned a sewer easement on the land next door. It didn't own anything on Melisa's land, but it dug anyway.) Making things worse, the work did not go well. There was extensive damage to the property and the sewage did not drain correctly from the homes. Melisa paid to fix the damage out of her own pocket—and then sued for compensation."
