The Great Illinois Pissing Contest

by

K.J. McElrath

This story began in May of 2010 when a building in downtown Belleveville, Illinois – located about 15 miles southeast of St. Louis – caught fire, severely damaging two other buildings in the process. One of those damaged buildings was a historic retail space, built in 1865.

Therein lies the tale.

The vintage structure, owned by one Ronnie Phillips, contained a large amount of asbestos material as was typical of virtually all structures built prior to 1980. Again, this begs the question of why all the asbestos insulation and roofing didn't do a better job of preventing the fire damage that led to the building's demise. But this was just the beginning of what has become yet another tangled and messy court battle.

Phillips, claiming that the city acted illegally when it demolished his building in the wake of the fire, has sued the municipal government for $1 million in damages as well as $3500 per month in compensation for lost rental income. It is not certain how Phillips could expect to generate rental income from a building that a structural engineer had determined was unsafe to occupy; the engineer in question  had been consulted by the mayor, the fire marshal and the city engineer. Based on the consultants evaluation of the situation, the municipal government hired a local demolition firm, Hank's  Excavating and  Landscaping, to tear down the damaged buildings and haul away the debris.

According to Phillips' lawsuit, the City of Belleville acted illegally by  failing to (A) give 15 days' notice and response time, (B) have a court order and (C) notify the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Now, the City of Belleville has filed a countersuit against Phillips, demanding that he pay for the cost of the asbestos cleanup in addition to damages and legal costs.  According to attorneys for the city, the asbestos release was due to the original fire, not the subsequent demolition has Phillips' attorney has maintained.

Acknowledging that all four parties involved – Phillips, the other property owner, the City of Belleville and the demolition company – acted improperly, Phillips' attorney has proposed a compromise in which  the costs of asbestos removal be divided among the four and that Phillips turn over his $50,000 insurance settlement to the municipal government in order to defray the costs of demolition and cleanup.

The city has agreed to the proposed compromise only if Phillips agrees to drop his lawsuit – and he's not going to budge, since he believes the city acted illegally in demolishing his property.

In the meantime, as litigation drags on, the real losers are the taxpayers of Belleville, who not only must continue to foot their city's legal bills, but live with the asbestos hazard in the now-vacant lot at North Charles and Main Streets. They don't seem to mind or even notice however; in an earlier article, a local reporter noted that the vacant lot – or "big hole," as it's been described – has drawn a lot of curiosity-seekers and may actually be helping local businesses.

Sources

Girresch,  Laura. "Will Belleville Have To Pay For Asbestos Left at Site of Fire Last Year?" Belleville News-Democrat, 8 August 2011.

Girresch,  Laura. "Man Who Sued Belleville Over Building Demolition Faces Countersuit Over Asbestos." Belleville News-Democrat, 17 August 2011.