Cobb County

Cobb homeowner says county project caused $500K damages to his home

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County homeowner is filing a lawsuit against the county after he says one of their projects caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage to his home.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Ashli Lincoln spoke with a man who says he has been hit with a $500,000 bill after water damage from a construction project funded by Cobb County flooded his home.

Lincoln says the flood was so bad, much of the home was submerged. Water carried pool furniture from the clubhouse next door all the way to their basement.

Flood insurance paid for a small portion of the damages, but Don Ranke says the county should have to pay the rest.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Ranke told Lincoln that have spent the last 13 months trying to clean up the last 15 years of memories and memorabilia.

“It was heart wrenching,” he said. “We miss it terribly.”

The basement was a total loss after poor water drainage from a nearby construction site caused gallons of water to pour into his basement.

“Basically came through like a tsunami,” Ranke described.

TRENDING STORIES:

If it wasn’t for flood insurance, Ranke says they would have had to pay out of their own pockets to replace their hot water heater, air conditioner and framing for the basement, but it is far from finished.

“It’s their fault. It’s not mother nature that happened, it was caused by their negligence,” he said.

Lincoln found that the construction work was part of a Cobb County storm water project.

In August, Ranke says he filed a lawsuit against the county and two contractors with North Georgia Concrete, Inc. who provided the work after neither offered to help pay for repairs.

“I don’t know why they’re fighting it,” he said.

[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]

Lincoln reached out to the concrete company and is still waiting for a response. Cobb County officials say they cannot comment on pending litigation.

IN OTHER NEWS: