ATLANTA — A city of Atlanta crew fixing a city pipe flushed hundreds of gallons of sewage into a northeast Atlanta man’s home.

But the city says he is the one who will have to pay for the damage.

That raw sewage ruined everything in the lower level of Gardner Rordam’s home in Atlanta’s Morningside neighborhood, just two weeks after he and his boys moved in.

The children’s toys and other belongings were destroyed.

“All of their things, all their things in their safe place just covered in sewage,” Rordam said.

It was Rordam who told the city of Atlanta there was a problem with city pipes on his street after a plumber pointed to the city backup as the source of a slow backup in his house.

A city crew came out to fix the lines on the street.

“They basically did a hydraulic jet, clearly, and it pushed hundreds of gallons of sewage into my house,” Rordam told Channel 2 investigative reporter Justin Gray. “They fixed their problem and left me with a ruined house basically.”

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All together, it’s $35,000 in repairs and as Rordam has gone back and forth with the city’s legal department, he learned a new term: sovereign immunity.

That sovereign immunity means the city is protected from having to pay.

“Their end conclusion is that those are their standard operating procedures and because it’s their standard operating procedures, they don’t pay any claims” Rordam said.

Channel 2 consumer advisor Clark Howard says cities and counties regularly invoke sovereign immunity.

“Sovereign immunity is something that has frustrated people forever,” Howard said.

Howard says your only recourse as a consumer is to go to your city council member and try to get relief through a vote of council. Or, if it’s a county government, go to the county commission.

And Howard says most insurance policies won’t cover something like this either.

“The problem is there are a lot of things that homeowners insurance excludes, and you can spend a pretty penny out of your wallet saying’ I need to add this, I need to buy this separate insurance policy,’” Howard said.

Rordam has tried to make repairs as best as he can afford while continuing to fight to get the city to pay up.

“There’s full acknowledgment of the mistake made. No expression of any regret or remorse and no attempt to make it right,” Rordam said.

Rordam has done what Howard recommends. He wrote to his city councilperson and the members of city council’s public safety and legal committee.

This will come up for a vote soon there, with the city’s legal department advising an “‘unfavorable recommendation” for Rordam’ s petition.

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