A feed mill business in Bowling Green, Ky., has requested the Kentucky Supreme Court to reinstate a $970,000 jury award from a civil lawsuit against the city.
According to a report from the Daily News, a jury found in a 2012 trial that the city of Bowling Green committed fraudulent misrepresentation and the former city electrical inspector committed negligent misrepresentation against feed mill owner Don Lowe after a power outage in 2002 temporarily shut down Lowe’s business.
The inspector had ordered that power not be restored to the business after an inspection determined the facility was in violation of city electrical codes. Lowe claimed the city did not tell him about the nature of the code violations for several weeks and misrepresented what caused the outage. Lowe’s Feed and Grain remained closed for 17 months, with Lowe having to lay off his employees.
The Daily News reported that Lowe had to hire a roofing contractor to prove to the insurance company that water leaking through the roof during a thunderstorm caused the electrical outage, rather than conditions created by rats and dust at the mill, as was cited in a letter written by the city attorney.
Then, in a 2-1 ruling last month, a state appeals court panel reversed the jury’s verdict against the city and remanded the verdict against the city inspector to the circuit court, finding that the city was shielded from liability on claims of fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation.
