Bartholomew
The owner of a St. Clair County property has filed suit against the company that leased his premises, claiming they destroyed the property and failed to pay for the damages they caused to it.
Donald R. Mueller claims he agreed to lease his property at 5921 Gateway Industrial Dr. in St. Clair County to defendant Metro Ice on Feb. 1, 2006. The lease was to last for five years, according to the complaint filed May 25 in St. Clair County Circuit Court.
Under the lease agreement, Metro Ice agreed to keep the property in "good order and repair." Should any damages occur, they promised to "repair or replace all doors, windows, plumbing fixtures and pipes, floors, stairways, railing or other portions of the Leased premises broken or damaged during the term of the lease, including damage caused by moisture from refrigeration equipment, broken windows and plumbing fixtures, which lesee is required to repair," the suit states.
Metro Ice allegedly breached the contract by failing to fix broken portions of the property and by refusing to repair the resulting moisture damages caused to the property, the complaint says.
"Donald R. Mueller has incurred or will incur expenses to remedy damages to the siding, garage doors, office doors, drywall, insulation, plumbing, lighting, and electrical, and incur expenses to remove smoke, mold, and rock; to repair damages to concrete decking, to recoat bay floors and to remedy environmental contaminates, all in an amount in excess of $50,000," the suit states.
In addition to damaging the premises, Metro Ice also breached its agreement to lease the premises for a specified amount of time, the complaint says.
When the lease agreement ended on Jan. 31, 2011, Metro Ice continued to pay rent and to occupy the property, Mueller alleges. In turn, the company became a holdover tenant, causing the lease to be extended for an additional five years, according to the complaint.
However, Metro Ice terminated the lease on Dec. 27, 2011, causing Mueller to lose rent, the suit states.
In his two-count complaint, Mueller is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus costs.
He will be represented by Joseph A. Barholomew of Cook, Ysursa, Bartholomew, Brauer and Shevlin in Belleville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 12-L-282.