CHARLESTON – Two lawsuits have been filed against U.S. Bancorp Government Leasing & Finance Inc. after the plaintiffs claim it and others failed to repair the culvert to the Crossings Mall shopping center.
Bancorp is being sued as trustee for the benefit of The Holders of Comm 2013-CCRE12 Mortgage Trust Commercial Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates.
Wells Fargo Commercial Mortgage Servicing was also named as a defendant in the suit.
On Sept. 17, 2013, UBS Real Estate Securities lent $13,650,000 to Tara Retail Group and as security for repayment of the loan, the borrower executed a Deed of Trust and Security Agreement to Jeremiah F. McCormick for the benefit of the original lender, according to two complaints filed April 10 in Kanawha Circuit Court and removed to federal court on May 22.
Constance Arthur-Nelson and The Elswick Company, which is doing business as Anytime Fitness Elkview, claim the property is leased by many commercial tenants in Elkview and is a vital commercial center for residents in the area.
On Jan. 16, 2016, Wells Fargo was contacted by Gold Coast Partners, requesting the expenditure of $24,000 for the repair of the culvert over which the only entrance to the shopping center passed and the repair of the dirt cliff behind K-Mart, according to the suits. Wells Fargo did not authorize the repairs as requested and no other defendant independently offered to pay the repairs.
The plaintiffs claim on June 23, 2016, a devastating flood swept through Kanawha County, in which the culvert first became blocked and then the culvert, fill and paving were washed away.
The defendants were negligent, careless and wrongful in the maintenance and repair of the culvert, according to the suits.
The plaintiffs claim the defendants were provided with actual knowledge of the necessity for repairs to the culvert and failed to make the repairs, an act that was unreasonable and negligent.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages. They are being represented by Stuart Calwell, John H. Skaggs and Alexander D. McLaughlin of the Calwell Practice.
The defendants are represented by Gerard R. Stowers, J. Mark Adkins and Jessie F. Reckart of Bowles Rice.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 2:17-cv-03003, 2:17-cv-03005