By David Fleet
Editor
Midland— At least some accountability for loss of property owned by a Goodrich family due to dam breaches that caused massive flooding on a central Michigan river was recently decided on by a Michigan Court.
On Nov. 27, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan awarded the State a monetary judgment against Lee Mueller, whose business owned and operated the Edenville Dam and is responsible for the 2020 catastrophe. The judgment is in the amount of $119,825,000, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel.
The court decision may not produce immediate restitution for the family of longtime Goodrich resident Gerald Hughes whose cabin was carried away when heavy rains dumped six to eight inches of rain over a 48-hour period overwhelming the nearby Edenville Dam on May 16, 2020.
Hughes, who died in October of 2021 told The Citizen newspaper during an interview in 2020 he recognized the roof of his cabin as it was floating down the Tittabawassee River in a YouTube post.
“The rest of my cabin was submerged,” he said during the interview.
Dan Hughes, son of Gerald said the cabin was a total loss for the family.
“We are part of a class action,” said Dan. “But so far we have heard nothing of any settlement. Hopefully we’ll get something, whether now or in other multiple suits filed. I never thought we’d get anything, but maybe there’s hope. If we don’t get anything, life goes on.”
Dan recalled the devastation.
“The only thing left was the slab (of concrete) the house was sitting on,” Dan said. “We picked up a few things but the house ended up a mile downstream.”
The Edenville Dam and subsequently the Sanford Dam were breached, forcing more than 10,000 Midland County residents to evacuate their homes due to the imminent danger from this 500-year flood event. Gladwin and Midland counties declared local States of Emergency on May 18, followed by Saginaw and Arenac counties.
The family cabin was located on about 200 foot frontage of the Tobacco River about 300 yards before it joins with the Tittabawassee River just south of Wixom Lake. The structure was a 50 foot trailer with an added pitched roof on a cement slab about four feet over the river level. It had been in the Hughes family since 1986.
Hughes, a Goodrich resident for 66 years, was former Martian football coach and high school math teacher for 33 years. His Gladwin County cabin had been in the family for 34 years.
“The dam’s ownership completely disregarded imminent threats to the safety and integrity of the dam, and as the State clearly demonstrated before the Court, Lee Meuller and his business were responsible for the disaster that struck Edenville and other area communities,” said Nessel. “This nearly $120 million judgment is important, both as a measure of accountability to the community Mueller devastated and as a deterrent to other owners of critical infrastructure.”