Insurance company sues Nicholas Coffee over fire

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The insurance company representing the Market Square restaurants Perle and Nola on the Square has filed a civil action against their neighbor, Nicholas Coffee, alleging negligence in a fire in June that damaged all three businesses.

The lawsuit alleges that the fire was caused by several safety shortfalls on the part of Nicholas in Downtown. The city’s Arson Investigation Unit determined in July the fire was an accident starting with Nicholas’ coffee bean roaster.

The insurer, Ohio-based State Auto Property and Casualty Insurance Co., is represented by the Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor. The lawsuit, filed Friday, is seeking at least $75,000.

State Auto insured Big Y LLC, which operates the affected restaurants, and paid out on the insurance policy to cover damages. The civil action is an effort to recoup the payout.

It claims, among other deficiencies, a lack of proper training of employees in use of the fire safety equipment, failure to follow all inspection and use rules, and use of the roaster’s afterburner without theexhaust turned on.

“It’s a slip and fall, it’s a stupid nothing lawsuit. We’re just named because we own the building,” coffee shop owner Nick Nicholas said Monday. “The insurance company is just trying to recover from ours. … They just want their money back from smoke damage from the fire.”

Mr. Nicholas said the civil action would have “no effect on the business.”