State Files Lawsuit against owners of Former Lear/Mosaic Tile Properties

ZANESVILLE – The suit was filed in Muskingum County Pleas Court on Friday and its holding a number of Virginia-based companies accountable who contributed to demolishing both of the properties.

“To me, there’s a lot of environmental contamination that they’ve created. When you’re tearing apart a building that has asbestos, you have to give proper notices to the EPA so they actually have inspectors on site to make sure that the asbestos is being removed. Secondly, we don’t know where they’ve disposed of some of the waste. Maybe they’ve left it all there or maybe they’ve transported some of it away. So, the bottom line – there’s been an environmental crime that’s been committed by these parties,” Zanesville Mayor Don Mason said.

Mason is grateful for both the Ohio Attorney General and Environmental Protection Agency for the lawsuit.

“I am excited to see the Attorney General going after these parties. These parties disrespected the thousands of workers who worked there. They disrespected the neighborhood and they’ve actually disrespected, basically, the people who drive through the area. So, its our goal that we will work to bring justice to bear on these people,” Mason said.

Mason is aware that the unkempt properties have been visible to the public for a long time, but, he says this lawsuit is another step in the right direction to get them both cleaned up.