CHARLESTON – Tara Retail Group LLC is suing the West Virginia Division of Highways after it claims the DOH failed to repair the bridge to The Crossings Mall.
Thomas J. Smith, in his capacity as acting commissioner of Highways and Secretary of Transportation, was also named as a defendant in the suit.
Tara owns property known as The Crossings Mall in Elkview and the only commercially reasonable and adequate means of ingress and egress to The Crossings is to cross the DOH’s right-of-way and/or rights-of-way to access Secondary Route 45, which is a public road and/or highway under the control of the defendants, according to a complaint filed June 23 in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Tara claims the corrugated arch culvert bridge on The Crossings Access Road was substantially destroyed by thunderstorms and torrential rains resulting in a catastrophic flood on June 23, 2016, to the extent that access to Tara’s property was destroyed.
The plaintiff requested that the defendants repair and reconstruct its right-of-way, which included the bridge on The Crossings Access Road, but received no response. On Nov. 15, Tara sent a Notice of Claim/Notice of Intent to File to the DOH, according to the suit.
Tara claims the defendants refused its request to repair the right-of-way and it was forced to file for bankruptcy on Jan. 24.
On April 14, the bankruptcy court entered an order authorizing Tara to obtain the requested post-petition financing to repair and reconstruct the bridge providing access to The Crossings and, on April 27, Tara commended the repair and reconstruction of the bridge, according to the suit.
Tara is seeking compensatory damages. It is being represented by Steven L. Thomas of Kay Casto & Chaney.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 17-C-879