Coventry takes control of Johnsons Pond, winning a case in the public domain

COVENTRY, RI — Coventry became the official owner of Johnson’s Pond after a judge ruled in the city’s favor Friday morning in a public domain case.

The news came a week after the city condemned the dam at the pond and filed a lawsuit against former owner Soscia Holdings, LLC, claiming ownership. Coventry is now the freehold owner of Johnson’s Pond and the associated lands, dam and structures. The court also ruled in favor of the city’s proposed $157,000 assessment, which was filed with the court clerk Friday.

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The pond’s dam and water flow rights were sold to Soscia Holding in 2020. Since the sale, the pond’s water level has created controversy between residents and Soscia holdings. City and state environmental officials have argued that Soscia Holdings has lowered water levels to the point where the dam is at risk of breaking. About 700 residents live around Johnson’s Pond.

Soscia Holdings sued the city for maintaining the pond and accused the city of prioritizing recreation on the pond over safety. Patrick Dougherty, the attorney representing Soscia Holdings, argued the dam’s spillway needs emergency repairs and the water level needs to be lowered to fix more leaks, WPRI 12 reported in April.

“Although my client’s ownership of Johnson’s Pond has come to an end, the process of asserting his right to fair and just compensation is just beginning,” attorney Patrick Dougherty told WPRI 12. “Soscia Holdings looks forward to exercising its right to a fair trial. and fair compensation through the court system and, in the process, exposing the injustice, misrepresentation and wrongdoing of the City of Coventry and others involved in what happened.”

The city offered Soscia Holdings more than $1.5 million to buy Johnson’s pond and surrounding land, but the company argued the offer was inadequate and valued the property at more than $100 million.

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