Water Meters. Photo: Nordroden/Shutterstock.com

A state Superior Court judge has granted class certification for a lawsuit on behalf of more than 9,000 Metropolitan District Commission customers who claimed the nonprofit municipal corporation charged them an unlawful annual water surcharge.

The ruling allows the litigation to proceed on behalf of a class of consumers from East Granby, Farmington, Glastonbury and South Windsor, who were charged a $158 annual surcharge in 2012, then $423 the following year and $199 in 2014.

MDC argued it was within its rights to charge an annual fee, but the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled against it, finding the surcharge illegal.

And now Hartford Superior Court Judge Thomas Moukawsher concluded that one umbrella suit is a better option than multiple proceedings.

“The class action for thousands nicked for relatively small change makes sense,” Moukawsher ruled. “It is the only way wrongs of these types will ever be addressed.”

Representing MDC are Robinson & Cole attorneys Wystan Ackerman and Kevin Daly. Ackerman relayed the following emailed statement from Christopher Stone, assistant district counsel for the Metropolitan District Commission: “The Metropolitan District respectfully disagrees with the court’s ruling and intends to continue to vigorously defend this case. The non-member town surcharge dates back to 1942. The District does not believe it has any implied contract with its customers requiring it to refund charges after this charge had been accepted and paid by its customers unchallenged for many years. The court’s certification of a class on an implied contract claim appears to be unprecedented nationwide.”

Three Izard, Kindall & Raabe attorneys—lead counsel Craig Raabe, Christopher Barrett and Oren Faircloth—filed the class action on behalf of fellow attorney and MDC consumer William Paetzold and his wife Lori.

“The plaintiffs are very pleased with the court’s common-sense ruling,” Raabe said.

Here is a look at the attorneys in the case.

Craig Raabe

Raabe’s commercial trial experience is broad, according to the biography on his website, and includes antitrust, government contracting, fraud, intellectual property and unfair trade practices. He’s also a member of the criminal defense bar, and has tried criminal cases in state and federal court. Raabe also counsels clients on compliance issues and government regulatory enforcement actions. He is also a commercial, instrument-rated pilot.

Christopher Barrett

Plaintiff counsel Barrett has recovered more than $150 million for clients, according to the biography on his website. He was an associate with Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, where he prosecuted class actions on behalf of plaintiffs, and with Mayer Brown, where he focused on complex commercial litigation.

During law school, Barrett served as a judicial intern to two U.S. district judges and a New York Supreme Court justice.

Oren Faircloth

Faircloth practices consumer protection actions, according to the biography on his website. He graduated magna cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2016, where he won the Terence H. Benbow Intramural Moot Court competition, receiving awards for both outstanding performance in oral advocacy and excellence in written advocacy. He served in the armed forces from 2010 to 2011.

Wystan Ackerman

Defense counsel Ackerman chairs the class action team at Robinson & Cole. He authors a legal blog, Class Action Insider, and has been involved in defending more than 60 class actions in numerous jurisdictions, according to the biography on his website. His case load has included putative class actions involving insurance and financial services, products liability, data breaches, health care, consumer contracts and securities.

Kevin Daly

Daly focuses his practice at Robinson & Cole on complex commercial litigation and trade compliance issues, according to the biography on his website. He is a member of the firm’s business litigation group and its manufacturing industry team. His practice involves representing manufacturers, insurance companies and other businesses in complex litigation, and trade compliance. Daly also represents companies with financial relationships with the U.S. government in defending False Claims Act litigation.