BELLEVILLE - A worker is claiming a one time fellow employee stole a substantial amount of tools and equipment at a plant where they both worked.
Geoffrey Grootenboer filed suit March 5 in St. Clair County Circuit Court against Klayton Skaer over the alleged theft of the tools.
According to the suit, the defendant was an employee at a business in Millstadt. The company is not named in the suit but the plaintiff is employed by Titan MidAmerica, according to his Linkedin page and other social media.
On Dec. 12, 2018, the plaintiff became aware that a "substantial" number of tools and equipment were missing from the premises, according to the suit. The plaintiff claims the stolen items were worth approximately $100,000.
Grootenboer claims he learned that the tools and equipment were taken without permission by the defendant. He allegedly demanded their return of the items without success.
The defendant's alleged taking of the property "amounted to an unauthorized and wrongful assumption of control or ownership" of the plaintiff's property.
Grootenboer states he was damaged to the extent of approximately $100,000.
The taking of the property was "intentional, willful and wanton," which allows for punitive damages, the suit states.
The plaintiff, who is seeking in excess of more than $50,000, is represented by Mark M. Silvermintz of Collinsville.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2020-L-0188.