Opinion ID: 858605
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Clarinet’s Property and Loss

Text: Clarinet, a Missouri limited liability company whose members were all Missouri citizens, is a commercial and residential real estate development company operating in St. Louis, Missouri. Essex is an insurance company incorporated under the laws of Delaware and headquartered in Virginia. In 2005, Clarinet purchased the Switzer building, “a turn of the century masonry structure” Clarinet intended to renovate “into luxury condominiums with street level retail and commerical space.” The Switzer building was a registered and protected historical building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On July 19, 2006, a windstorm struck the city of St. Louis. The storm seriously damaged the Switzer building, destroying parts of two exterior walls and part of the roof. Debris and bricks fell onto an adjacent bridge and electrical substation, damaging this city property. The parties dispute the extent of the damage, but Essex admits “[t]he [s]torm left large portions of the east and north walls with no support,” and “exposed the building’s interior to the weather, resulting in continued deterioration.” 1 The Honorable David D. Noce, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri, sitting by consent of the parties pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c)(1). -2- As an emergency stabilization effort, Clarinet installed approximately twenty aluminum bracing towers and additional braces and netting to prevent more debris from falling from the building onto adjacent property. Clarinet’s stabilization “efforts continued for several months.” The parties dispute whether “the building remained structurally unsound” after Clarinet’s initial efforts, but Clarinet contends the building “constituted a continuing hazard and immediate threat to the public safety” in April 2007, and had to be demolished. On or about January 23, 2007, Clarinet entered into a demolition contract with a third-party demolition company. Because the Switzer building was a designated historical landmark, Clarinet had to seek approval from various city agencies before demolishing the building. Clarinet maintains the city initially resisted Clarinet’s requests to demolish the building, believing it would be preferable to preserve as much of the existing structure as possible. On June 6, 2007, the city issued a Notice of Emergency Condemnation that required Clarinet to demolish the building. The notice indicated the city concluded the property could not “be made reasonably safe without the demolition and removal of” the damaged Switzer building. Clarinet demolished the building by approximately June 18, 2007, at costs exceeding $660,000.