New Trial Ordered in Suit Against Contractor Over Nebraska Library Sprinkler Damage

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Wahoo city officials will get another chance to try to prove a contractor’s negligence after a sprinkler system in their local library burst and caused an estimated $160,000 in damage, the Nebraska Supreme Court said.

The court ordered a new trial in the legal dispute between the city and a contractor that was hired to inspect and maintain the system.

Part of the library’s ceiling collapsed in January 2014 under the weight of water that had accumulated after a sprinkler pipe froze and burst. Wahoo city officials sued three companies that were involved with the sprinkler system, but the only one that went to trial was NIFCO Manufacturing Systems.

A jury sided with NICFO in the trial, prompting Wahoo officials to appeal. The high court ruled that instructions given to the jury at the trial were erroneous.