A legal battle between a Roslyn couple and the Village of Roslyn, one that lasted 12 years, was resolved last week when a Nassau County jury awarded a $550,000 settlement to Harry and Judith Wilner, who sued the village for malicious prosecution over a rainstorm that happened in 2005.
The case, said attorneys from the firm of Ruskin Moscou Faltischek PC, stemmed from a heavy rainstorm in October 2005, one that resulted in a concentrated downhill flow of water and mud that damaged the village hall at 1200 Old Northern Blvd. The village, Ruskin attorneys said, alleged that the Wilners, residents of Verity Lane, were “partially responsible for the damage because they had a makeshift drainage device on their property that did not meet village code and was illegally discharging storm water down the hillside behind village hall.”
The Wilners’ lawsuit maintained that a village-owned drainage system was the cause of the flooding. The lawsuit added that the village, according to the attorneys, tried “to shift the blame for the malfunctioning village-owned storm water system components by continuing the prosecution of the summons.”
In addition to claiming the village was guilty of malicious prosecution, the lawsuit added that village officials deprived the Wilners’ of their constitutional rights. “The jury saw through the village’s attempt to blame my client through a baseless criminal proceeding,” said E. Christopher Murray, an attorney for Ruskin Moscou Faltischek PC.
Village officials had no comment on the settlement at this time.
