Power goes out, lawsuit gets filed
Two North suburban residents have filed a class-action lawsuit against ComEd, claiming the utility botched its role in the recent power outages.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Cook County, blames the company for failing to maintain its facilities and not having an adequate response plan in place. It also accuses ComEd of failing to adequately warn customers of its shortcomings prior to the power outages.
"ComEd knew or should have known the outages posed a risk of impending harm to the plaintiffs and their property … in that the customers are likely to suffer property damages, financial damages, adverse health consequences and other damages," the lawsuit states.
The two plaintiffs named in the suit -- Frances Sheffler of Glenview and Mark Resnik of Wilmette -- could not be reached for comment. A woman who answered the telephone at Resnik's home said she had no knowledge of the complaint.
Their attorney, Larry Drury, did not return calls seeking comment.
Roughly 630,000 ComEd customers lost power after angry storms, and at least one tornado tore through the Chicago area Thursday. The storms -- which were accompanied by winds of up to 80 mph -- dumped about 3 inches of rain on the region in just a few hours.
ComEd spokesman Jeff Burdick said he could not comment on the lawsuit because the company had not yet received a copy. He stressed, however, that ComEd faced an arduous task following the downpour.
"Last week's storm was the most destructive storm to affect the Chicago metropolitan area in more than a decade," he said.
Of those who lost power, 90 percent had electricity restored within 48 hours, Burdick said.
To speed up repair times, ComEd flew in help from as far away as Texas and Philadelphia on Saturday. By late afternoon, an estimated 700 crews were working to restore lines.
"ComEd crews have performed remarkably well to restore power to all our customer," Burdick said.
A few dozen customers remained in the dark late Tuesday, though ComEd officials hoped to have their power restored before sunrise this morning.
The lawsuit comes as state Sen. Susan Garrett, a Lake Forest Democrat, announced plans for a public hearing on the utility company's emergency response process. The meeting will be held Sept. 4 in Des Plaines.