Ex-Sheriff Files Claim Against City

Former Latah County Sheriff Kenneth Buxton and his wife on Friday joined a wave of Moscow residents who have filed tort claims against the city for water and sewage damage after flooding in November 1995 and February 1996.

The Buxtons claim a faulty city sewer system and a mismanaged building permit that allowed a neighbor to bring “in an extensive amount of fill dirt, creating an artificial dam,” caused 29 inches of water to fill their basement.

They have asked the city to pay $63,185 to compensate them for flood mitigation, repairs to their home, loss of income and loss of property value. Flood mitigation and loss of property value comprise $55,000 of the claim.

Besides allowing their neighbor to bring in problematic fill dirt, the Buxtons claim “the city of Moscow also failed to provide adequate drainage capacity in its storm sewers.”

They say about 50 percent of their living space was covered with water.

The Buxtons tort claim follows a $100,000-plus sewage and water damage tort claim by a Moscow attorney and his wife, a $1,500 tort claim for water damage from a Grant Street apartment owner and a $3,767 bill from duplex owners who say their duplex was damaged when “hundreds of gallons” of raw sewage came bubbling into their basement earlier this year.