GLASGOW, Ky. — A downtown business owner has filed a lawsuit against the City of Glasgow, alleging the city failed to fulfill a decades-old obligation to properly repair and waterproof an exterior wall after the historic Newberry building was demolished.

The lawsuit, filed July 22 by Harris Subway Endeavors LLC, claims the city breached a requirement outlined in a 1980 deed requiring it to repair and waterproof the exposed wall of what is now the Subway building on Glasgow’s Public Square.

The present-day Subway building was once part of the larger building connected to the Newberry building, which also occupied the site where the Barren County Government Building now stands.

J.J. Newberry Co., a variety store and luncheonette, opened in Glasgow in 1929 and operated in the building for decades before closing in 1989.

In December 1980, the City of Glasgow acquired a portion of the Newberry building.

The deed from that transaction stated that if the city or a future owner demolished the building on that property, it would be required to “properly repair and waterproof the exposed wall and any damaged or disturbed roof area on the remaining and adjacent Newberry building.”

Harris Subway Endeavors LLC, owned by Gregory L. Harris, acquired the Subway building in May 2022.

According to the lawsuit, the city later demolished the portion of the former Newberry building it acquired in 1980 and applied a “concrete stucco type of material” over the historic brick exterior of the Subway building without properly waterproofing the wall.

The lawsuit alleges the city has periodically maintained and repaired the stucco surface but has failed to fulfill its obligation to properly waterproof the exposed wall. Harris Subway Endeavors LLC claims the failure has caused damages.

The complaint alleges the city breached the obligations outlined in the deed and was negligent in failing to fulfill those obligations.

The disagreement has been ongoing since at least 2024.

In previous interviews with Barrenside, Glasgow Mayor Henry Royse said the city provided Harris with documentation from a local contractor indicating work on the wall had been completed as recently as 2010.

Harris has maintained that although the wall was patched with stucco and painted, it was never properly waterproofed, consistent with the allegations in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs, interest and a jury trial.

As of Monday, the City of Glasgow had not responded to the lawsuit. City Attorney Rich Alexander did not immediately return a request for comment.

Attorney Matt Baker is representing Harris Subway Endeavors LLC.