Frog Phobic Gets $1.6M Over Runoff Flooding

A western New York man will get $1.6 million to settle a dispute that left him hopping mad when flooding from a nearby development left him inundated by frogs.

The award settles a seven-year legal battle involving Paul Marinaccio, the town of Clarence and a developer.

Marinaccio said runoff diverted onto his 40-acre property turned it into wetlands filled with frogs. Marinaccio says the abundant amphibians forced him inside because a childhood incident left him with a crippling frog phobia.

The Buffalo News reports the dispute was resolved a few weeks ago when a State Court of Appeals decided he wasn’t entitled punitive damages.

The developer’s attorney says his client only did what the town told him to do.

A drainage channel will be dug under a post-verdict agreement.