Advocacy: Dubrulle v. Great Lakes Water Authority

Standing Up for Michigan Homeowners

In late June 2021, a historic rainstorm hit metro Detroit. In some areas, more than eight inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period, an event described as a 1,000-year storm. As the regional sewer system was overwhelmed, untreated wastewater backed up into the basements of hundreds of homes across Detroit's east side and the Grosse Pointe communities, causing devastating property damage for families throughout the area.

Jerome Dubrulle and his wife Jennifer were among the affected homeowners. Rather than accept the damage quietly, they stepped forward as lead named plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit, Dubrulle v. Great Lakes Water Authority, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court in October 2021 on behalf of similarly situated homeowners.

The Case

The lawsuit alleges that the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), which operates the regional sewer system, along with the City of Detroit and several east side communities, bears responsibility for the backups. The plaintiffs allege that known, documented problems at key pumping stations, including the Conner Creek and Freud Pumping Stations, went unaddressed, and that only a portion of the storm pumps were operating during the storm, contributing to the sewage backups that flooded residents' basements.

A Significant Ruling on Appeal

In 2023, the trial court dismissed the claims. Jerome and his fellow plaintiffs appealed, and in a decision issued October 2, 2025, and reissued in amended form on January 22, 2026, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal in large part. The appellate court held that dismissing the case before homeowners had a real opportunity to conduct discovery was premature, and that with further discovery the plaintiffs could potentially show that specific defects in the sewer system were a substantial cause of the backups. The court also restored the plaintiffs' right to seek class certification, which the trial court had wrongly ruled was waived.

The case now returns to the Wayne County Circuit Court for further proceedings, where the homeowners will finally have the opportunity to develop the evidence behind their claims.

Why It Matters

For Jerome, the case has never been only about one basement. It is about accountability for the public infrastructure that hundreds of thousands of Michigan residents depend on every day, and about making sure that when families suffer preventable losses, they have a real path to answers. The appellate ruling ensures that homeowners across metro Detroit will have their day in court.

Case reference: Dubrulle v. Great Lakes Water Authority, Michigan Court of Appeals Docket No. 365363 (opinion on reconsideration issued January 22, 2026).