Charlie and Mary Williams filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Lorain this week.

"Raw sewage and it flowed for 19 hours. It didn't shut down," said Charlie Williams.
 
Raw sewage covered the floor of the Williams' home in December 2006 after a sewer break.

"I heard water rushing. It was gushing out of the floor drain about three feet. I tried to pump it out, but there was so much sewage it broke the shop-vac," said Williams.

Three years later the home looks unfinished.

"There's no drywall four feet up anywhere on first floor. The basement is gutted, so now it's just two by fours," said Williams.

Williams said this all happened after that sewer break in 2006. He said the city of Lorain never cleaned up, nor took the blame.

"Can't sell it, can't fix it, can't move," said Williams.

The Williams filed a lawsuit against the city of Lorain for negligence. Their lawyer tells ONN the city first fixed the line in 2004 with a concrete patch and never replaced it with something more permanent.

"He said nope, we're not going to do it. We can't take responsibility. You're not allowed to talk about it," said Williams.

The couple doesn't just blame the break for ruining their home. They said the mold and bacteria from the raw sewage caused Mary's 84-year-old mother, Dorthy Dulick, who lived with them, to get sick and die. In fact, one of their only pictures of Dulick is stained from the water damage.

"She was with us 9 years and now she's gone," said Williams.

The Williams want to leave too. They said it's the only way to rebuild and start over.

Lorain City Officials told ONN that they could not comment on pending litigation.

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