A Superior Court judge has ruled in favor of 751 Weed Street LLC in a legal dispute with neighboring homeowners over sewer and drainage easements tied to the developer’s proposed 102-unit apartment project on Weed Street.
In a Feb. 11 decision issued in Stamford Superior Court, Judge Edward Krumeich denied the homeowners’ request for a permanent injunction that would have blocked excavation and pipe replacement work within shared easement areas crossing their properties.
The plaintiffs, the single-family home owners, argued that the developer’s plans to excavate portions of the easement area, inspect and potentially repair or replace sewer pipes, and upgrade a 310-foot stormwater drainage pipe from six inches to eight inches exceeded the scope of the recorded easements. They also claimed the work would constitute a nuisance and was never intended to serve a multifamily development.
The court rejected those arguments, finding that both the sanitary sewer and drainage easements grant a permanent right to enter the easement area to “use, maintain, repair or replace” the pipes. Judge Krumeich ruled that nothing in the easement language limits 751 Weed St. to single-family use. The judge further concluded that the homeowners failed to prove irreparable harm or show that the proposed work would substantially interfere with their rights. The temporary disturbance associated with trenching and pipe replacement, the court found, was a reasonable exercise of the developer’s easement rights.
In addition to denying the injunction, the court issued a declaratory judgment affirming that the developer has the right under both easements to perform the proposed sewer inspection and drainage pipe replacement in accordance with engineering plans.
The ruling addresses only private easement rights among property owners. Separate zoning proceedings related to the proposed 102-unit development remain pending.
