New Albany has two weeks to comply with outstanding written discovery requests in a court case involving a low-head dam. Floyd Superior Court 3 Judge Maria Granger also gave the city until the end of June to make Mayor Jeff Gahan available for deposition.
Granger denied a motion this week for default judgement filed on behalf of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
The Indiana Attorney General’s Office took legal action against New Albany last August, after the mayor had rocks placed at the dam to stop the hydraulic roller effect below it. The work came two months after 14-year-old A.J. Edwards Jr. drowned there, and several years into court battles around the fate of the structure.
Officials with Indiana DNR said Gahan didn’t have proper permitting for work at the Providence Mill Dam, also known as the Glenwood Park Dam. They want the work reversed. The United States Army Corps of Engineers also issued cease and desist orders to the city last year. In January, the agency gave New Albany until June 23 to submit restoration plans.
In February, attorneys for Indiana DNR asked the judge for default judgement, saying in court records that the city “has refused to meaningfully participate in discovery.” According to the filing, the city and its representatives have missed depositions and failed to respond to written discovery requests.
Gordon Ingle, an attorney for New Albany, refuted that in an April response, writing that Indiana DNR’s counsel didn’t attempt to resolve discovery issues before filing the motion.
He said in court filings that the agency “has treated the discovery process as a ‘ONE WAY STREET,’ by setting dates without consulting counsel and without sincere attempts to resolve differences,” according to the response.
In her order, Granger said the court “determines that a graduated approach to resolve the discovery issue with a definite timeline to complete discovery is prudent in light of the facts and circumstances.”
Although Granger didn’t grant the request for default judgement, she warned in her order that “failure to comply with all outstanding discovery requests as specifically ordered will result in the default judgement.”
This week’s court actions are the latest in several years of legal challenges surrounding the fate of the more than 100-year-old structure in Silver Creek.
In 2021, a contractor for River Heritage Conservancy secured a permit to remove the dam, to make the creek safer for recreation as part of overarching plans for Origin Park in Southern Indiana.
Gahan’s administration has challenged that at the state and local level. The mayor has said he wanted to see it preserved and has talked about plans to modify it instead of removal.
Amanda Malott, mother of the teen who drowned at the dam last Memorial Day, is also suing the city and others for the death of her son.
In March, her attorneys filed a lawsuit in state court including as defendants the city of New Albany, Clark and Floyd County commissioners, the Town of Clarksville and Indiana DNR.
Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec Inc., the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation, and the Caesars Foundation of Floyd County.
