Judge rules that lawsuit over Billings water bills can proceed

That March argument failed this week, meaning that some residents who have been expressing concerns about water bills since summer 2024 might see some sort of resolution with the class action lawsuit.

Judge Ed Zink’s order noted that following a system change in 2024, some residents began seeing “drastic” increases in water consumption. He then said plaintiffs and “thousands of others reached out to the City through various means to complain about the excessive billings.” He said that included complaints to city leaders in addition to a petition with 269 signatures.

The city said that since complaints weren’t directly presented in-person before council, they couldn’t be accepted. The judge wasn’t convinced.

“Such an interpretation is unreasonable and is a practical impossibility," Zink stated. “Even if the eleven named plaintiffs might have been able to accomplish this task, the putative remaining plaintiffs number potentially in the thousands. The Court has little difficulty in concluding that thousands of rate-paying citizens cannot attend a City Council meeting to present their claims. The law never requires impossibilities.”

The judge found that residents’ “significant and persistent efforts” to alert City Council of their concerns with their water bills were enough to allow the lawsuit proceed.

Attorneys representing the plaintiffs declined to comment on the merits of the ongoing litigation but are hopeful the decision “will allow for a speedy and fair resolution of the case.”

Attorneys for the city didn’t return a request for comment. The decision by the judge will now likely lead to the city responding to the allegations associated with the overcharging including charges of deceit and breach of contract.

A past audit by an independent firm hired by the city found that billing was accurate during the summer when many of the complaints arose. The judge also referenced other findings associated with the audit in his order. 

“The audit reviewed fewer than 30 meters, and in summer, found that the City had inadequate staffing, rushed its system conversion process, and the bills did not include sufficient information to ensure all charges were correct.”