Youngstown man sues city for neglecting to fix pothol

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A Shirley Road man has sued the city, saying he was thrown from his motorcycle and injured when he hit a large pothole on Cooper Street, which he said the city had long known about but neglected to patch.

Robert Soich filed the lawsuit Monday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, demanding a jury trial and damages in excess of $25,000 in the accident he said occurred about 10:30 p.m. July 23, 2011, as he slowed for a stop sign.

City Law Director Anthony Farris said the city had no advance knowledge of the purported pothole and was not negligent. Had the city known about such a hole, the city would have repaired it, Farris said.

Soich cannot overcome the city’s governmental immunity from lawsuits unless he can show that the city had advance knowledge of a pothole, but failed to repair it in a timely manner, Farris said.