BOULDER - Plumbing problems can be a real bummer. The University of Colorado is blaming "defective" toilet paper for causing more than $40,000 in damage on the Boulder campus in 2009.
The lawsuit, filed last week by the CU Board of Regents in Boulder District Court, claims Waxie Enterprises Inc. entered into a contract with CU to supply janitorial supplies, including toilet paper, beginning in late July 2007.
The toilet paper was produced by Royal Paper Converting Inc.
The lawsuit alleges, in May and June 2009, the CU Boulder campus "began to experience multiple plumbing issues, including toilets becoming clogged and overflowing in 20 buildings."
The lawsuit claims the toilet paper "failed to disperse properly," and one line became so clogged, crews had to "saw-cut concrete and excavate sewer pipes in order to remove an auger from a sewer line that was so bound up and clogged with toilet paper it became stuck in the plumbing line."
The CU lawsuit claims the repairs were not only costly, but also caused "administrative inconvenience and hassle."
"Waxie has just become aware of this lawsuit and is currently investigating these alleged claims by the University of Colorado. Waxie products have been and continue to be high quality. We have no further comment," Rick Hazard, Waxie Sanitary Supply vice president of marketing, said.
9NEWS left a message Wednesday afternoon with Arizona-based Royal Paper Converting Inc. We had not received a response Wednesday evening.
CU officials say it is their policy not to comment on pending litigation, not even through attorneys.
"It's an unfortunate situation in which there were damages that we feel we need to recover," CU spokesman Bronson Hilliard said.
Hilliard says the damage affected 27 buildings on CU boulder campus, all of them classroom and academic research buildings. He says no dorms were affected.
Hilliard says the problems ranged from bubbling toilets to flooding. The university did not have any of the alleged "defective" toilet paper available to be photographed and would not allow media access to campus bathrooms Wednesday.
"I've never heard of that. Not that kind of a problem," Jerry Carico of Denver-based Plumb Line Services said.
"The cheaper toilet paper doesn't break down like the softer toilet papers," Carico said. "I've seen it plug toilets, but not a sewer line itself."
The CU lawsuit is seeking damages from both the toilet paper manufacturer and distributor, claiming breach of contract and negligence.
The CU student affairs office says about 60 percent of the student body had completed final exams Wednesday. The remainder of the student body was expected to finish exams Thursday with commencement on Friday morning.
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