Family asks city of Tallahassee for money after house flooded with sewage

• Raw sewage leaked through the pipes of the Williams family home, causing $363,000 in damage.
• Five months later, the family is still pushing for compensation, but the city says it can only pay them $200,000.
• Watch the video to find out why they say they can't give them more:

TRANSCRIPT OF THE MISSION:

Imagine sewage coming out of your sink.

That's exactly what happened to a Northeast Tallahassee family.

I told you in May about the sewage that entered the Williams family home.

Mayor John Dailey said at the commission meeting in August that the city had accepted responsibility for the problem but would not cover the entire cost.

Tara and Brad Williams said their real nightmare began on April 11, when sewage leaked from their pipes into their home.

OUR COVERAGE OF THE HISTORIC FLOOD CAN BE FOUND BELOW:

VIDEO: Meter-high water floods shops, houses and streets in northeast Tallahassee

“It was the worst thing that could ever happen to a person,” Tara said.

Their house is badly damaged and is considered a biological hazard.

“There were literally feces and used tampons floating around our house,” Tara said.

Since April, the city of Tallahassee has been responsible for securing her home.

The Williams said they have been renting since the backlog occurred. They said they took time off from work to find contractors and meet with the city.

“They have to take out every piece of subfloor in our house. They have to take out all the walls at least three feet high,” Tara said. “It was lying around, so who knows what else is going to happen.”

The estimated cost for the repairs: $363,000.

The city government said it could only offer them $200,000 under Florida's Sovereign Immunity Act.

This law exempts local governments from the obligation to pay an individual more than $200,000 in damages for alleged negligence.

This cap is $300,000 if the same event has multiple impacts.

City Attorney Amy Toman wrote in an opinion that the Williams, as joint homeowners with a claim, fell under the $200,000 cap.

I contacted City Treasurer Jim Cooke.

He said the city had nothing to add.

Attorney Daniel Woodring specializes in municipal law and said this follows that law.

“Sovereign immunity is actually intended to protect the public as a whole, not individuals,” Woodring said.

He said there are some exceptions, such as the passage of a law by the legislature or the payment of higher stipends from the city's insurance system.

“They are allowed to accept more than that cap if they feel it is covered by the insurance, but they cannot be forced to do so,” Woodring said. “That is very tricky because often a government entity's insurance is based on a cap.”

The Williams said they still believed there was another way to end their nightmare.

“We literally just asked to pay only what we needed to be able to get back into our house,” Tara said.

The Williams said they could not begin work on their house until they reached an agreement with the city.