Putnam’s owners sue contractors over former building

By Jacob Barker

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Three years after abandoning their former office at 3500 Buttonwood Drive, Putnam's Interiors owners Herman "Ed" Rohlfing and Thomas Detert have sued the building's contractors for faulty construction that they say made them and some of their employees sick.

E&N Holdings, Putnam's Interiors Inc., Rohlfing and Detert filed suit in December against Little Dixie Construction, Timberlake Engineering and Star Heating and Air Conditioning Co., seeking $1.078 million in losses plus damages for personal injuries.

The suit alleges "numerous defects and deficiencies in construction as well as substandard workmanship." As a result, Putnam's was forced to sell its inventory in a "fire sale," lost the building to foreclosure and had to pay deficiencies on loans from Boone County National Bank and the Small Business Administration, its suit says.

The defendants, all local companies, have denied the allegations in court filings. Little Dixie's attorney, Glen Ehrhardt, said in an interview that the building is occupied and the new owners have not reported any issues. "We don't believe there's any merit to the lawsuit. ... We look forward to the opportunity to present this case to a jury going forward," he said.

The other defendants' attorneys did not return calls for comment. Rohlfing and Detert declined to be interviewed, referring questions to their lawyer, Steve Ruprecht of Kansas City.

In 2006, Putnam's, formerly known as Pavilion Inc., moved into its $2.7 million building. In November 2008, the company hastily left. A December 2008 letter from the partners' former attorney Tom Rost referenced in the suit details their complaints with the structure and the damage they say it caused their business.

"The structural issues doom this building for my clients' purposes as it is simply not possible to go back and create a structurally sound building that has not had components subjected to abnormal fatigue," Rost wrote.

The letter accuses Little Dixie of discovering an underground water source below where the foundation was to be poured but not alerting the owners to the potential issue. As a result, cracks formed in columns, doors became unusable as the structure shifted and water penetrated the building, the letter says.

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Putnam’s owners sue contractors over former building