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Lupo sued over Ashtabula County well
By Joe gorman
youngstown
Embattled former D&L Energy owner Ben Lupo is facing another civil lawsuit filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.
Disposal Wells LLC, which lists an address of 2761 Salt Springs Road, filed the suit against Lupo on Oct. 28, alleging he took profits from the company — generated by a well it runs in New Lyme in Ashtabula County — for his own use.
He is being sued for unjust enrichment, breach of duty of good faith, accounting and removal of member.
The case has been assigned to Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, but a hearing date has not been set yet, according to court records.
The suit says that Disposal Wells was formed in 1998 and Lupo is one of the members of the company. Disposal generated revenue by offering oil- and gas-well disposal services to other companies, according to the suit.
The suit says that Lupo has taken revenues generated by the company and misused them, which has harmed the other people who make up the company.
No attorney was listed for Lupo.
A federal grand jury indicted Lupo, one of his companies, Hardrock Excavating, and an employee in February after a criminal investigation by state and federal regulators found Lupo had directed the employee to dump a mixture of brine and oil-based drilling mud down a storm drain after dark.
He has a pretrial conference before Judge Donald C. Nugent on Dec. 10 in that case.
Since he was charged in federal court, Lupo has faced legal action in other courtrooms, and his former company, D&L Energy, declared bankruptcy.
Most of its assets were purchased in bankruptcy court last week by a Denver company.
In its suit, Disposal Wells is asking that Lupo be removed as one of the members of the company, pay damages in excess of $25,000, account for all funds diverted since Jan. 1, 2000, and for attorneys fees and court costs.