MANSFIELD — A scheduled trial in the City of Mansfield lawsuit against the Lucas company that demolished the former YMCA has been delayed until March 2026.
A jury trial in the city’s lawsuit against Page Excavating had been scheduled to begin July 14 before visiting Judge Christopher Collier in Richland County Common Pleas Court, according to online court records.
The breach-of-contract allegation revolves around the wording found in the contract itself signed in September 2018 during the previous administration of Mansfield Mayor Tim Theaker and then-Law Director John Spon and Jeff and Landa Page, owners of the company.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages against the company.
Attorneys for the city and Page Excavating filed a joint motion seeking the delay, which was granted by Collier. The city is represented by the North Canton law firm of Baker Dublikar while the company is represented by the Taft Law firm in Columbus.
The city has paid Baker Dublikar $7,357 thus far for its work on the case, according to the city’s finance office.
(Below is a PDF showing a joint entry by attorneys for the City of Mansfield and Page Excavating seeking to delay the scheduled jury trial.)
“The reason for this request is that the parties have encountered some difficulty with regard to document retrieval and witness availability in the course of discovery,” the attorneys said in the joint filing on June 4.
“Additional time is needed in order to fully evaluate the case and also to prepare it for trial. The parties met on May 29 and are working together to try to move discovery forward in the most expeditious manner possible,” the motion said.
Collier approved the request and set a new trial date of March 16 at 9 a.m.
(Below is a PDF showing a journal entry from visiting Judge Christopher Collier on June 5, approving a delay in the jury trial in the City of Mansfield lawsuit against Page Excavating.)
The judge ordered that the names of “all expert witnesses and expert reports will be given to the other party by Nov. 30 and that all discovery be complete by Dec. 12.
The two sides have until Jan. 30 to file all dispositive motions and trial briefs must be filed by Feb. 15, including:
— a statement of the factual and legal issues; stipulations, if any.
— list of proposed witnesses and a brief summary of expected testimony.
— list of proposed exhibits, as well as any special equipment needs for trial.
— discussion of any evidentiary issues anticipated at trial.
The judge also said trial briefs “shall include any unique or sensitive proposed voir dire questions, as well as any proposed jury instructions peculiarly related to the case.”
In December, Collier dismissed several of the city’s causes of action against Page Excavation, including the city’s attempt to claim fraud/misrepresentation by the company and also its attempt to seek individual damages from Jeff and Landa Page.
In a13-page ruling, Collier said the city’s complaint “is, at best, ambiguous as to what Page Excavating could and could not bury at the project site and what Page Excavating was not required to remove from the project site.”
The judge found issues with the contract itself.
“At least one portion of the contract provides that all demolished material needed to be removed from the project site, while another portion of the contract allowed Page Excavating to bury demolished materials,” Collier said.
He noted the city’s complaint alleges entire structures of the former building were undemolished and covered up, including entire locker rooms and portions of the basement.
“In that regard, both the meaning of the contract, and Page Excavating’s performance, are questions of fact that cannot be resolved at the pleading stage,” Collier said.
“Accordingly, the court finds that (the city) can prove a set of facts that would entitle it to relief for breach of contract and breach of warranty (against) Page Excavating,” the judge ruled.
The ruling came about a month after attorneys had a hearing with Collier, a retired Medina County judge assigned by the Ohio Supreme Court to preside over the case.
According to court records, both Richland County Common Pleas Court general division judges, Brent Robinson and Phil Naumoff, recused themselves from the case July 24, citing concerns over impartiality in the matter.
During the November hearing, the attorneys in the case — Canton lawyer Mel Lute Jr., representing the City of Mansfield, and Columbus lawyer John Gambill, representing Page Excavating — largely argued along the lines of briefs previously filed in the lawsuit, which was launched by the city in April 2024.
The City of Mansfield paid $500,000 to have the work done on the 3.2-acre site in late 2018 and early 2019, using a portion of the city’s PRIDE tax funds.
The city also contributed another $600,000 in PRIDE funds in 2024, during a $1 million “re-do” by a different contractor on the site. The property is now owned by the Richland County Land Bank, which also utilized a $405,000 state grant to help fund the work.
During a Mansfield City Council meeting in early September, Harper said he was hopeful for a settlement in the case, which came when the Richland County Land Bank discovered a massive amount of material left buried in the initial demolition done by Page Excavating.
The Land Bank assumed ownership of the property after the original demolition was complete and was seeking to have the site redeveloped.
Land Bank board executive director Amy Hamrick said in March 2024 new contractor crews dug as deep as 40 feet to remove material left behind by Page Excavation, work that was completed in November.
“Once we tell them everything is buried, (developers) quickly lose interest,” Hamrick said in March.
“To be honest, in my worst dreams, it was never this bad. I don’t know what else to say. It’s unbelievable,” she said of what was found at the site.
