May 2, 2012 — (Editor’s Note: Claims made in a civil lawsuit state only one side of an issue).
Only a day after being served with a lawsuit on behalf of several local individuals, spearheaded by attorney Michael Fox, the city of Olive Hill and the Kentucky League of Cities (KLC) once again find themselves on the receiving end of litigation.
The latest suit also concerns the events leading up to the 2010 floods and the numerous insurance claims that followed.
Attorney Patrick Flannery Tuesday filed a 61-page civil suit against Olive Hill and the KLC on behalf of several more local businesses and individuals.
The filings were on behalf of Walker’s Family Restaurant, LLC, Lawco Investments, LLC, Larry A. Walker & Lavonda Rena Walker, Johnston Enterprises, Inc., Michael D. Johnston & Deborah Ann Johnston, Eastern Kentucky Properties, Inc., John B. Dean, James A. Short and Madonna G. Short, Larry R. Nolen, Larry J. Stegall, Bruce Holbrook and Patrick Flannery.
Named as defendants are Mayor Danny Sparks, City Clerk Cheri James, as well as current and former city council members Linda Lowe, Kenny Fankell, Madeline Powell, Tony Williams, Gayle Smith, Allen Stapleton, Jerry Callihan, Enoch Hicks, Brandon Hamilton, Ray McCoy and Edwin Cook III.
Also named are Larry Harris, Lancer Holbrook, as well as city employees Jerry Estes and Roger Parsons.
In addition, the suit also names the KLC and Collins Company of Kentucky as defendants.
Flannery’s suit, which closely mirrors Fox’s filing, names 16 counts of negligence and a claim of private nuisance against the City of Olive Hill and a claim of bad faith and unfair claims settlement practices against the Kentucky League of Cities.
The negligence claims in Flannery’s lawsuit center around a lack of maintenance of the city’s sewer and storm drain systems, and the 2003 excavation of Tygart’s Creek, which both suits allege were principal factors that contributed to the 2010 flooding that devastated numerous homes and businesses in the city.
The document also asserts that despite numerous warnings of a potential flood event, city officials “failed or refused to undertake reasonable and prudent action” to prevent such a disaster from happening.
Tuesday’s suit, much the same as Monday’s, also alleges that the KLC engaged in bad faith and unfair claims settlement practices because it paid out a claim of $159,000 to local businessman Donny Lykins, but denied all other claims submitted by Olive Hill business owners under the same circumstances.
Joe Lewis can be reached at jlewis@journal-times.com or by telephone at 286-4201.
