Oxford Aviation sues county over mold

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Oxford Aviation sues county over mold

The ton Sun Journal*

By M. Dirk Langeveld , Staff Writer

Friday, August 29, 2008

http://www.sunjournal.com/story/280636-

3/OxfordHills/Oxford_Aviation_sues_county_over_mold/

PARIS - An Oxford airplane refurbishing business has filed suit

against Oxford County, claiming it was lax in repairing their

facility and created a dangerous working environment.

Oxford Aviation, which leases space at the Oxford County Regional

Airport, states that a leak in the building's roof was reported in

2005, but grew more serious in January this year. The suit states

that the county was lax in repairing the roof and that the leak led

to mold contamination.

Attorney Gavin McCarthy, who represents Oxford Aviation, states that

the mold made several offices at the building unusable, and also

created health problems. McCarthy states that four employees

complained of symptoms such as headaches and nausea, and one has

threatened to quit.

The suit charges the county with a breach of contract, stating that

the lease requires the county to maintain the buildings. It also

asks that Oxford Aviation not be responsible for any claims arising

out of health problems related to the mold.

In June, commissioners approved a bid for $7,185 to repair the roof.

Commissioners also approved spending $2,800 to remove mold inside

the facility after the roof repairs were complete.

County administrator Carole Fulton said roof repairs have been

completed, but Oxford Aviation canceled the mold removal set to

begin last Friday.

According to the suit, Oxford Aviation owner Jim Horowitz said the

company was informed last Tuesday that it needed to remove all of

its materials for the mold remediation by the end of the week.

McCarthy states that no timeline was given to Oxford Aviation on

when the work would be complete and the removal of materials would

inhibit the business.

" If Oxford is unable to operate for a long period of time, it may go

out of business entirely. " McCarthy states.

Last year, commissioners threatened to terminate their lease with

the company if Horowitz did not cease work on truck refurbishment

and other nonaviation related activities at the facility.

Oxford Aviation also owns Eastern Slope Aviation, a maintenance and

flight training facility at the Eastern Slope Regional Airport in

Fryeburg.

According to the suit, the lease between Oxford Aviation and the

county is in effect until 2027, although commissioners have

discussed renegotiating it to make it annual.