Palermo municipality ordered to pay over 35 thousand euros for flood-damaged houses in Mondello

Last Updated: March 18, 2024

Due villette danneggiate dagli allagamenti a Mondello, il Comune di Palermo condannato a pagare oltre 35 mila euro

The Municipality of Palermo has been ordered to pay over 35 thousand euros as compensation to the owner of two villas in Mondello, used as holiday homes, which were flooded. This was established by Judge Francesca Taormina of the third section of the Palermo court.

The incident dates back to August 2018, when the owner of the two buildings suffered serious damage to his tourist structures. The heavy rains on August 21 and 23, 2018, not drained by the sewer system, first flooded the streets and then flooded the two apartments. On both occasions, sewage flooded the properties and reached a height of about 20 centimeters above the flooring. The incident caused damage to the villas, the surrounding gardens, and furniture, as well as economic losses for not being able to rent out the holiday homes during a peak season. Moreover, the guests of the properties were forced to leave the buildings.

The owner, assisted by lawyers Alessandro Palmigiano and Mattia Vitale, appealed to the president of the Palermo court. Less than a year later, the court appointed a technical consultant to assess the damages. The expertise revealed “the insufficient capacity to drain water through the Municipality’s water drainage network, a circumstance that caused the damages to the two villas, as well as further damages attributable to the inability to rent them out.”

“The inaction of the public administration, which, even after several judgments, continues for many years to not remedy situations for which it has a specific duty of supervision, cannot burden the citizens – commented Alessandro Palmigiano, managing partner of the law firm -. I hope that this case serves as a basis for planning the necessary sewage works so that similar incidents do not occur again, with very high costs for all of us citizens.”