Suit against Dierbergs seeks $450k, plus dirt

The land owner who sold Dierbergs five acres of land for $75,000 in 2001 to build a store in Shiloh, is suing the Missouri-based grocer for $450,000 claiming breach of contract, conversion, intrusion and nuisance--plus the land trust wants its dirt back.

A nine-count suit was filed by the Monica Threlkeld Trust in St. Clair County Circuit Court June 30 claiming Dierbergs did not live up to its grading plan near a sanitary sewer easement on adjacent property owned by the trust.

According to the complaint, Dierbergs failed to provide siltation control to offsite properties, failed to compact fill areas to 95 percent standard density, and failed to remove sediment deposits after each storm as required by the grading plan.

The land trust claims that Dierbergs installed its drainage pipe on the Threlkeld parcel outside the designated easement area.

“The grading and erosion control methods implemented by Dierbergs has obstructed the flow of storm water on the Threlkeld parcel resulting in the silting in the creek channel, and increased water on the parcel, which hindered mowing and ordinary maintenance and caused equipment to be mired in mud,” the complaint states.

The trust also claims that Dierbergs willfully and wantonly assumed control over its property by removing soil and using it to construct a dam on the Dierbergs parcel.

“Threlkeld has demanded return of the soil, or value thereof, from Dierbergs, but wrongfully refuses to do so,” the complaint states.

The trust alleges that Dierbergs ordered its contractor to enter the Threlkeld parcel knowing with substantial certainty that the instructions would result in trespassing.

In addition to damages, the Threlkeld Trust also is seeking a permanent injunction ordering Dierbergs to regrade and install erosion controls that will prevent water accumulation on its property, an order requiring Dierbergs to remove its storm sewer from the Threlkeld parcel, and punitive damages in an amount to punish Dierbergs for its willful and wanton conduct.

“The accumulation of surface water on the Threlkeld parcel has and still continues to substantially interfere with the use and enjoyment of the parcel and has diminished its value.”

Threlkeld is represented by Russell Scott and Michelle Rousseau of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale of Belleville.

05 L 385 (20th Circuit)