Apr. 26—ROCHESTER — The city of Rochester and its former parking ramp operator are denying any negligence in relation to
a $48,000 lawsuit
filed by the owner of a downtown building reportedly damaged following a burst sprinkler pipe.
BGD5 Development LLC, a Titan Development & Investments company, filed the lawsuit last week, citing damages to Doubletree Hotel and Pescara Restaurant.
According to the lawsuit filed by Dunlap and Seeger attorney Ken Schueler on behalf of the property owner, a sprinkler pipe in the nearby skyway owned by the city and operated by Lanier Parking Holdings, Inc., resulted in a leak with water diverted down a set of stairs and into the commercial properties.
BGD5 alleges the city had a responsibility to maintain the skyway's rooftop heating unit and water line, and Lanier should have taken action after reportedly being made aware of low skyway temperatures prior to the incident.
League of Minnesota Cities attorney Paul Merwin filed a response on behalf of the city, denying liability for the reported damage.
However, if the city were required to pay any restitution, Merwin said the payment should be sought from Lanier, since any related actions were outside of city control.
Brian Wood, an attorney with the Minneapolis-based Lind, Jensen, Sullivan & Peterson law firm, responded on behalf of Lanier, arguing that both claims are incorrectly made as the incident was outside the company's control, and the property owner failed to fully mitigate its damages.
Wood and Schueler have requested a jury trial, if the lawsuit is not settled through potential mediation. Both attorneys have suggested the civil trial, which is proposed for May 2023, could take three days.