West Palm Beach to pay out $100,000 for water damages

Five years after a water main break did $400,000 worth of damage to their home, Sally Ricca and her husband, Brooks, will likely receive $100,000 from the West Palm Beach City Commission.

The commission will vote next week on whether to hand over the cash after a faulty pipe did considerable damage to the 5,200-square-foot home off the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Beach. The home was valued in 2013 at $4.5 million, according to the Palm Beach Post.

According to the Riccas’ lawsuit, the couple was forced to leave their house for nearly four months during repairs. State Farm Insurance paid them $357,000.

The Riccas’ insist that the entire two-block stretch of pipe, which has malfunctioned several times, is a safety hazard and needs to be replaced.

“We should not have to have a fourth incident where perhaps a chunk of asphalt hits someone and kills them before the city assumes its obligation,” Ricca said. [PBP] – Christopher Cameron