A class action lawsuit has been filed against Eversource in response to the company’s response to Tropical Storm Isaias and the suit is seeking $1.5 billion.
The complaint was filed in Superior Court in Hartford and accuses the company of negligence, recklessness and a breach of contract.
Tropical Storm Isaias struck Connecticut last Tuesday and caused widespread damage.
At the peak number of outages, at least 715,000 households were without power. That was the day after the storm and more than a week later, there were still several outages.
The lawsuit has three plaintiffs -- a Farmington homeowner, a New Britain homeowner and a West Hartford business owner -- but says the potential class number could exceed 1,000 businesses based on the Eversource coverage area.
The complaint alleges negligence, saying that Eversource did not take effective measures to keep customers’ service on, that the company did not trim trees ahead of the storm to prevent outages and it didn’t keep its equipment in proper condition.
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It also alleges that the company did not have adequate personnel and equipment and failed to take timely and effective action to restore power.
Eversource said it does not believe the lawsuit has merit.
“We recently learned of the lawsuit and are reviewing it, but we believe it has no merit. We recognize the tremendous impact the storm and resulting outages have had on customers across the state. We remain focused on getting the power back for those customers still without power. This has been an incredible team effort by our employees and the thousands of outside crews who have worked tirelessly on this massive restoration,” Mitch Gross, of Eversource, said in a statement.
