Trash piled up outside Grover Center last year after the failure of a water valve that caused extensive water damage. The University has filed a lawsuit against the valve’s manufacturer.

Almost a year after Grover Center sustained extensive water damage from a valve failure, Ohio University has filed a lawsuit against the valve’s installer and manufacturer.

OU, along with its Boston-based insurer Lexington Insurance Company, filed a complaint in Athens County Court of Common Pleas on March 29 asking for $1.9 million in damages.

The suit names A.J. Stockmeister, Inc. of Jackson, Ohio, and American Valve, Inc. of Greensboro, N.C. as defendants. It contains two counts of negligence, one count each for breach of warranty, strict product liability and breach of contract.

OU paid $100,000 of its $350,000 insurance deductible for the repairs to Grover. Inter-University Council, an insurance consortium composed of Ohio’s 15 public universities, paid the remaining $250,000.

If the university and insurance company win the suit, the $1.9 million will reimburse OU, Inter-University Council and the Lexington Insurance Company for their involvement. The $1.9 million is the estimated damage cost; OU would receive $100,000, Inter-University Council would receive $250,000 and Lexington Insurance Company would receive $1.55 million.

A.J. Stockmeister, Inc. entered into a contract in June 1999 with the university through the Ohio Department of Administrative Services to supply and install heating, plumbing and air conditioning equipment during the renovation of Grover. A.J. Stockmeister Inc. completed its work in 2001.

More than 70 office spaces and at least a dozen classrooms were damaged after a fourth-floor valve in the chilled water piping system malfunctioned and caused a 3-inch pipe to burst April 2 last year.

“Pretty shortly after it happened, various investigations started,” said Barbara Nalazek, associate director of OU’s Legal Affairs. “It took us this long to investigate what happened and who the possible parties are.”

Physical Plant and Environmental Health and Safety workers replaced the valve during the cleanup process, said John Kotowski, associate vice president for facilities.

OU will wait for the defendants to file an answer to the complaint before either discussing a settlement or setting a court date, Nalazek said.

James D. Sillery of the Athens law firm Mollica Gall Sloan & Sillery will represent OU instead of Legal Affairs but could not be reached yesterday. Both A.J. Stockmeister and American Valve declined comment.