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Historic St. Pete church sues after pest attack, failed fumigation

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St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in St. Petersburg is under attack again by termites lurking in its century-old walls.

A St. Petersburg Times article published Aug. 9, 2000, noted St. Bartholomew’s had to be shut down for two days when it was being fumigated. It was the second time in two years the property was tented to deal with the pest issue.

This time, however, the church took precautions to prevent pests from causing destruction to this historic building by contracting with Terminix to treat the property.

The church filed a complaint suing the company for negligence. Damages to the building exceeded $15,000, which the church is asking to be repaid.

According to the suit, the damages incurred include money spent on repairs along with future maintenance; the cost of temporary lodging and transporting property to a storage facility during the time of the repairs; any additional treatment costs; preventable maintenance costs; repayment of the initial contract and the renewal payments the church made to Terminix; and any other expenses acquired by the church due to the negligence of Terminix.

Peter Cardillo, the church’s attorney, said Terminix was supposed to perform yearly checks of the property at 3747 34th St. S. in St. Petersburg.

The church filed its complaint Aug. 21. Terminix filed a motion to dismiss the suit against them Oct. 13, according to baylawsuits.com.

The church had work done to its exterior in 2000 where Hardie Board, a waterproof fiber cement siding, was installed. This siding was supposed to keep pests out of the building, according to the 2000 Times article. A decision was made by the church’s vestry to put aside $40,000 for this project, according to its website.

There is no word yet on whether the church will be shut down for repairs or fumigation, according to Cardillo.

The article from 2000 can be viewed here.

 

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