Suit filed over leaky building at MCO

5/13/2004

Mosser Construction Co. yesterday filed a lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court against the architect and five contractors that worked on the Howard L. Collier Nursing & Allied Health Building for the Medical College of Ohio, alleging the firms were responsible for moisture problems in the eight-year-old building.

Mosser Construction, which was the general contractor for the project, alleged that flawed plans and negligent supervision by Munger, Munger & Associates, a Toledo architectural firm, contributed to water infiltration and damage to the building.

The Fremont-based company also sued Western Waterproofing Co., of Livonia, Mich.; Toledo Mirror & Glass Co.; R.H. Dewey Co., of Temperance; Meinhart Electric, Inc., of Toledo, and Colloid Environmental Technologies Co., of Chicago.

The lawsuit claims that a defective design, substandard workmanship, improper electrical work, and deficiencies in building materials, including improperly constructed and sealed glass curtain walls, caused the water infiltration and moisture, condensation, and mold problems.

Mosser said it spent $1,046,012 to repair the building at the request of state officials. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Co., of St. Paul, which is a plaintiff in the complaint, paid $436,033 in claims to Mosser, the lawsuit said.

The $10.5 million Collier Building opened in 1996. It houses classrooms, laboratories, and offices for the college's nursing and allied health programs.