Apr. 5—WILKES-BARRE — The demolition contractor for the Sphere International LLC hotel project downtown sought dismissal of a recklessness claim filed against it by the owner of an adjacent building who said it was damaged while making way for the new construction.
The April 1 filing in Luzerne County Court by Empire Building Diagnostics Inc. of DePew, N.Y., also asked for dismissal of punitive damages.
The company tore down the former Frank Clark Jeweler building on South Main Street in 2020 in preparation for a five-story, 102-room Avid Hotel proposed by developer Sphere International LLC of Flemington, N.J. But in the process, the former women's clothing store Place 1 at the Hollywood next door sustained damages to the front facade, roof and party wall, its owner Barbara Coffee said in a suit filed Feb. 17.
In May 2021, Sphere broke ground for the $8 million hotel project. The second phase of construction calls for construction of residential housing on the property on the corner of South Main and West Northampton streets on the other side of the Coffee building.
The contractor, developer and the city of Wilkes-Barre, which issued the demolition permit, were named as defendants in the Coffee suit seeking in excess of $50,000 and a court order to stop the project until appropriate steps were taken to protect her property. As of Monday the court had not issued any order or ruling in the suit.
The filing said, courts only permit a recklessness claim to proceed if the facts assert conduct that created a risk of harm outside a normal or usual manner to the plaintiff. In this case, the filing said, the owner was not inside the building that "was long since closed at the time" of the demolition.
In its filing Empire noted it not only applied for and received the demolition permit from the city, but also hired and consulted with the engineering firm of TGL Engineering Inc. in connection with razing the former Frank Clark building.
The preparation by Empire shows it "did not perform the work with a conscious disregard of any risk, much less an undue or excess risk," the filing said.
Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.