Contractor Seeks Dismissal of Crown Castle Suit Over Damaged Conduit

Commercial contractor Black Electric “generally denies each and every allegation” in Crown Castle’s Sept. 29 complaint that its workers damaged a conduit holding telecommunications fiber that Crown Castle had installed along Maryland's Hatem Bridge spanning the Susquehanna River on U.S. 40 between Havre de Grace and Perryville, said the contractor in its answer to the complaint Tuesday (docket 1:22-cv-02497) in U.S. District Court for Maryland. Black Electric asked the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice, that judgment be entered in its favor, plus that an award be granted of “appropriate costs” and attorney’s fees. The alleged damages “were not caused or proximately caused by any actions or omissions” by Black Electric personnel, it said. Crown Castle’s claims “are barred, in whole or in part, by contributory negligence,” it said. Crown Castle seeks recovery of the $403,000 in costs for labor and equipment it said were required to repair the damage, plus interest and court costs.