Plandome loses fight against water district

A judge has ruled against the Village of Plandome in its lawsuit against the Manhasset-Lakeville Water District claiming the district breached a contract and charged excessive fees for water.

In his Aug. 1 decision, Judge R. Bruce Cozzens Jr. of Nassau County Supreme Court ruled that the village did not show that the water rate charged by the district was "arbitrary and capricious," and that it did not breach the terms of its agreement with the village when it changed the formula in how it billed the village for water, calling it "fair and reasonable."

The rate went from $3.85 per 1,000 gallons under the current contract to $4.84 per 1,000 gallons that will be retroactive to Jan. 1, 2013, according to the village.

Cozzens also found that the village, which sits outside the district, is not a "captive customer" of the water district because the village has its own wells that it could use to provide water to its residents.

The village stopped using its wells after switching to the district's water in 1992. It filed the suit against the district last year.

"Everything we did was reasonable and appropriate," Christopher Prior, an attorney representing the water district, said Tuesday. "And we did not breach the contract."

The village issued a statement Wednesdaysaying it was "disappointed by the decision," and argued that the village was indeed a captive customer of the district, contesting whether it could activate its wells during the contract with the district.

"The unequal bargaining power caused by the village's captive status is the direct cause of the village being forced to file suit," the statement read.

Village trustees are now determining the village's options for water after the contract with the district expires in December 2014 -- including the possibility of reopening its own wells.