LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A jury has awarded a group of developers $2.3 million in damages for a 2015 fire on Whiskey Row.
The jury found in its October 13 verdict that contractor Sullivan & Cozart Inc., "failed to exercise the degree of ordinary care and skill expected of a general contractor" working under similar circumstances.
That failure, the jurors agreed, was a "substantial factor in causing" the fire on July 6, 2015.
The Main Street Revitalization development group filed a lawsuit in 2018 against the contractors in Jefferson Circuit Court, claiming Sullivan & Cozart and its insurance company, Cincinnati Insurance Company, did not honor contract agreements and pay back over $2 million in damages from the fire.
The jury did not find that Sullivan & Cozart acted "willfully, wantonly, or with gross negligence for the lives, safety, or property of others," including the developers.
The 2015 Whiskey Row four-alarm fire started as construction was underway on several businesses planning to locate in the strip on W. Main Street near the KFC Yum! Center.
Investigators determined the fire started from a spark caused by workers using acetylene torches and grinders to remove old cast iron piping, electrical conduits and sprinkler pipes. The sprinkler system had been taken out of service.
Thanks to the efforts of Louisville firefighters, the historic structures were saved, and the block is now home to restaurants, bars, a hotel and other businesses.
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