Premier Air Center of East Alton filed suit against Wood River-based Helmkamp Construction in Madison County Circuit Court May 30, alleging a hangar collapsed causing substantial damage and loss to the building and business.
Represented by Robert Cockerham of Brown & James in St. Louis, Premier Air alleges "Hangar 61" collapsed on July 19, 2006, causing in excess of $4,467,661 in damage and loss.
According to Premier Air, Helmkamp was responsible for the installation and construction of Hangar 61 and had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the building's installation and construction.
Premier Air claims Helmkamp knew or should have known that any subsequent owner or operator of Hangar 61 would be damaged and injured if it acted negligently while constructing the hangar.
Premier Air alleges that during the construction and installation Helmkamp was negligent, careless and at fault in the following ways:
Premier Air claims that in an attempt to affirmatively conceal evidence of its carelessness, Helmkamp:
Premier Air claims Helmkamp's acts of concealment prevented it from discovering Hangar 61's structural flaws.
"The acts of concealment were intentional," the complaint states.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Daniel Stack.
08 L 467