OTTAWA COUNTY, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing the United States Gypsum Company (USG) for nearly $17 million over the company’s failure to maintain underground mines that caused dangerous sinkholes near State Route 2 in Ottawa County, threatening the roadway’s stability.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Ohio Department of Transportation, seeks to recover $16.8 million in costs incurred by ODOT to stabilize the roadway and prevent its collapse.
“U.S. Gypsum’s failure to uphold their responsibility has put Ohio’s taxpayers in a multimillion-dollar hole,” AG Yost said. “We’re holding them accountable for the money it took to fill it and keep State Route 2 from crumbling.”
The case dates from 1965, when USG sold land to ODOT to build State Route 2 above the company’s underground gypsum mines. The purchase agreement required USG to maintain the integrity of the mines to ensure the highway’s stability and motorists’ safety.
As Yost’s lawsuit alleges, however, USG filed a Quit Claim Deed in 1977 withdrawing its commitment to maintain the mines but failed to notify ODOT about the filing or seek the department’s approval.
In the ensuing decades, Route 2 developed into a main thoroughfare for travelers in the Marblehead, Kelley’s Island and Cedar Point tourism areas. USG continued to engage in discussions with ODOT regarding potential earth movement along the route resulting from sinkhole development, but by the early 2000s – again without notifying ODOT – the company filed paperwork to legally cease its offer to monitor the highway.
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