Pocono News Section

Clarks Summit Ordered to Pay $2.3 Million in Damages

Clarks Summit Ordered to Pay $2.3 Million in Damages - Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 6:10PM EST

Reported by: Eric Deabill
Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 @ 06:10pm EDT
CLARKS SUMMIT, LACKAWANNA COUNTY -- Heartbreaking. That's how lawmakers in Clarks Summit describe a jury's verdict.

After a week-long trial the borough has been ordered to pay out more than two million dollars to a landowner. That's almost as much as their yearly budget.

The verdict in this civil case came down just before noon Wednesday. ItÕs all over a 6-year saga over a small strip of road in Clarks Summit. Now taxpayers may be left to pick up the pieces, and it could be costly.

Peter Amato leaves the Lackawanna County Courthouse a winner. A jury says the Borough of Clarks Summit violated his rights and owes him 2.3 million.

ÒI'm glad itÕs over. I'm just very happy. Extremely happy. ItÕs been a long ride, a long journey and I'm just glad itÕs over," said Amato.

The decision comes after a six-year battle over a small stretch of road on Grandview Street. The borough shut it down in 2003 for safety reasons. Attorney for Clarks Summit Ernie Preate said, ÒWe think we're entitled to do what we did. It was the right thing to do."

Mari Vanwie lives on Grandview Street. She says the road was closed because of safety concerns. ÒItÕs a very narrow road with curves and twists and the visibility is very poor," she said.

Lawyers for the developer disagreed and sued. They say a proposal by Amato to build townhouses was the reason.

Jurors saw it their way. AmatoÕs attorney Patrick Lavelle said, ÒWe've always felt that the basis of the decision to close the road was primarily to deny Mr. Amato the ability to access his property."

Clarks Summit Borough Manager Virginia Kehoe said, ÒI'm heartbroken. This is a significant loss for our borough."

Now borough leaders don't know how they'll pay. The 2.3-million dollar decision is nearly equal to their yearly budget. ÒWe haven't even begun to figure out how we would pay for this. What are our options? I don't know," said Kehoe.

The attorney for the Borough of Clarks Summit says they will appeal today's jury verdict. He says they weren't allowed to introduce some evidence that could have swayed the case.