Downtown business files suit, claims streetscape project damaged property
ASHLAND A downtown business has filed a lawsuit against the City of Ashland, former engineer and contractors tasked with completing the Winchester Avenue Streetscape Project, claiming the city refused to rectify damages partly due to the store owner's opposition to the project.
The owners of Lara's Bridals & Formals filed a complaint in Boyd County Circuit Court late last month against the city, former Director of Engineering Steve Cole, Allard Excavation, LLC, and Palmer Engineering Company, outlining negligence and tortious interference with business relations, negatively impacting business inventory and profits.
Per the plaintiffs, sidewalk removal adjacent to their property, located at the corner of Winchester Avenue and 15th Street, was done so without proper drainage or erosion controls, resulting in water infiltration to the business's basement each time it rained in the spring of 2024 — during the time frame the plaintiffs allege the streetscape project was 'expedited.'
Per the suit, the shop owners had multiple conversations with city officials, including former City Manager Mike Graese, Cole and representatives with Allard Excavation and Palmer Engineering, but that no actions were taken that remedied the water infiltration.
The alleged inaction was a breach of the city and project overseer's 'duty of reasonable care' to the business, including the installation of 'defective or improper materials, such as brick pavers over sand which exacerbated water intrusion into the subject property.'
Specifically, plaintiffs allege the city (through their supervision of engineer Cole), ignored or inadequately responded to the repeated complaints, as Cole allegedly refused to follow recommendations of Allard and Palmer to identify the cause of pooling water, which seeped down the walls and collected in the basement of the dress shop after contractors unsealed a former coal chute that extended beneath the concrete sidewalks.
'Defendant City knew or should have known the defendants Allard and Palmer, in concert or coordination with Cole, had improperly planned, designed, supervised and implemented the streetscape project and negligently accelerated the completion of (the project) in December 2023, posing an unreasonable and foreseeable risk of damage to the plaintiffs and others similarly situated within the City of Ashland,' the complaint reads.
Furthermore, dress shop representatives claim after raising numerous concerns with the ongoing water infiltration, in April 2024, parties associated with each defendant, including Graese and Cole, 'arrived at the subject property unannounced and questioned Plaintiff in an aggressive manner that suggested that she had in some way caused the water infiltration.'
With the alleged problems still unresolved, the complaint alleges the city's current Economic Development Specialist, Eden McKenzie, 'acknowledged that, as a result of the streetscape project, both the Putnam Building and Highlands Museum had nearly identical water infiltration damage as that of the subject property,' but that possible remedies weren't initiated, as the City of Ashland, 'did not like the options to repair the damages.'
According to the dress shop owners, a forensic engineer with Allard's insurance provider recommended 'restoring the sidewalk to its original condition,' which the city allegedly would not approve, in addition to denying requests to excavate under the sidewalk to identify issues that 'could be coming from aging clay pipes beneath Winchester Avenue.'
In addition to allegations of negligence in supervising the project, the shop owners are suing for overall nuisance claims, alleging the streetscape rehaul interfered with daily functionality of the shop, as the project 'has caused unreasonable and substantial annoyance and interference with plaintiffs' ability to use and enjoy the property.'
As for the claim of tortious interference with business relations, Lara's claims all defendants part of the suit 'disrupt(ed) customer access to the subject property and refus(ed) to take reasonable corrective measures to mitigate the entrances to the business being inaccessible for extended periods of time.'
Issues accessing the business include pooling water in front of the store and water infiltration 'created a hazardous environment for employees and patrons, all of which resulted from the streetscape project.'
Dress shop representatives claim their issues weren't just related to poor supervision and execution, but went unresolved seemingly out of spite, claiming 'Defendant city ... was intentional, purposeful and upon information and belief, undertaken by defendant city to punish the plaintiff for her early opposition to the streetscape project.'
The plaintiffs added the defendants' 'intentional and improper conduct was designed to advantage their own interests in completing the streetscape project.'
In summary, the business owners claim the result has caused physical damage to the property, including mold formation, damages to interior walls and fixtures, standing water and structural and or foundations issues like sink holes.
Those physical issues allegedly resulted in damage to business inventory, fixtures and personal property, a loss of business revenue and profits.
As of Monday, only Palmer Engineering's response to the complaint has been filed, in which they say excavation or demolition 'was specified by the contract documents for the project and Palmer denies any allegations inconsistent with the contract documents for the project.'
In other words, Palmer claims its actions were conducted as outlined in the contracted outline from the city.
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