U.S. Water News Online
RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that Chesapeake is immune to lawsuits from women who believe their miscarriages were caused by a chemical in the city's tap water.
More than 200 women had sued the city for amounts totaling $1.8 billion dollars.
They allege that city officials hid the fact that Chesapeake's drinking water contained high levels of trihalomethanes, or THM's.
In its decision, the state's highest court ruled that Chesapeake is protected from such lawsuits under "sovereign immunity," which protect municipalities from legal actions arising from the exercise of governmental functions.
The high court's opinion reverses a decision by Norman Olitsky, a retired Portsmouth judge who ruled in 2002 against the city of Chesapeake.
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