RAPID CITY SD (KELO.com) — Homeowners affected by the Black Hawk sinkhole from past gypsum mining are banding together to sue the state, Meade County, and individuals involved in the development and sale of that property for 75-million dollars.
The suit seeks over $35-million in compensatory damages and $40-million in exemplary damages.
The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial.
John Fitzgerald of Rapid City is the attorney for the homeowners.
A 32-page document, dated May 24th, outlines fourteen counts of negligence and endangerment against a host of defendants.
The document gets officially filed in circuit court today.
The document names the governments, people, and companies involved in the current housing development, and outlines the use of the land for mining dating back to 1891. It also specifies the mining done on the land by the state, and by private companies, as well as the chain of knowledge of the unreclaimed underground cavity which they say has posed an ongoing public danger for decades.
A total of fourteen families have been evacuated from homes over the underground cavity since a sinkhole opened up in late April.
(Brad Anderson, KOTA-AM, contributed this report.)
