CHARLESTON — An attorney representing the plaintiffs in two lawsuits filed against the Capitol Flea Market for damages says counsel for both parties are working cooperatively.
Rusty Webb with the Webb Law Centre is representing White Insurance & Associates and Robin Stricker in their cases against Capitol Flea Market.
"We’re in negotiations right now," Webb said in an interview with The West Virginia Record. "The defense counsel is being very cooperative and I have no complaints."
Webb said he's been working steadily with the defendant's counsel and they have been very willing to try and get the case settled.
"I’m relatively confident that we will be able to settle the cases," Webb said. "The counsel I’m dealing with is very cooperative and very willing to look at the damages and try to get it settled."
The lawsuits named Capitol Flea Market, Jaime Fuentes and John Meadows Jr. as defendants.
In April 2022, a drainage culvert collapsed on the Capitol Flea Market property that ran underneath the property's parking lot and was the sole conduit for all the neighborhood's stormwater to drain.
Without the culvert, water is trapped and won't drain from the neighboring properties, according to the suits.
The complaints claim that Fuentes, the owner and operator of the flea market, was aware that the culvert had collapsed but chose not to address or repair the draining system.
Multiple times during 2022, Fuentes was contacted by neighbors regarding impending flooding and he was unreceptive to their complaints, according to the suits.
The plaintiffs claim on Aug. 5, 2022, the area received heavy rain that caused widespread flooding and water rose at least one foot in areas near and on the properties. Ten days later, the area experienced another significant rain event.
"With nowhere to drain, due to the collapsed culvert, water backed up and inundated," one of the complaints states. "The road was closed due to the flooding."
After the flood on Aug. 15, 2022, the defendants hired an excavator to repair the culvert, and a large hole was excavated, but no repairs were made to the culvert.
In October 2022, the machinery was removed, but the hole remained and it made it even more difficult for water to drain.
The area received another heavy rain on Nov. 11, 2022, and properties were damaged again. Another heavy rain occurred on Feb. 16, 2023, and the flooding caused even more damage.
The plaintiffs claim Fuentes, as the owner and operator of the flea market, is responsible for the maintenance of the property and that he was aware of the collapsed culvert well before the flooding in August 2022. The plaintiffs claim he breached his duty to maintain the property by allowing the culvert to collapse and by not fixing it.
Meadows is the owner of the property on which the flea market sits and is also responsible for the maintenance of the property.
"Upon information and belief, the culvert was obstructed and the Defendants had to mechanically pump the pooling water from the entire drainage after the floor on November 11, 2022," one of the complaints states. "It took several days to lower the water level with the pump."
The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. They are represented by Webb.
Kanawha Circuit Court case numbers: 23-C-120, 23-C-422