A historic church has sued a local utility for $1 million, claiming that its 89-year-old pipe organ, one of the largest in the Western Hemisphere, was damaged by steam escaping from beneath the adjacent street and sidewalk.

St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Manhattan says in court papers that it told Consolidated Edison on June 30, 2004, about an "extraordinary amount of steam" coming from the street into the church.

Soon after, court papers say, the Aeolian-Skinner organ began to malfunction. The problems were caused by moisture being drawn into the organ's pipe system through its blowers and pumps in the church's basement next to the main steam room, the court papers say.

"The moist, humid and damp air had a negative effect on the components within the organ and caused deformation, deterioration, sticking, improper sealing, opening and closing of the organ components and a general, overall breakdown of the organ system," the papers say.

Despite being notified, the utility failed to take any corrective action until five weeks later, when it repaired faulty components of its steam system, which were causing steam to enter the church on Park Avenue between East 50th and East 51st streets, the papers say.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Parishes • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Economics, Politics

1. Tar Heel wrote: TEC:  Lawsuits R Us. June 13, 10:35 am | [comment link]

2. In Newark wrote: Tar Heel—Sorry, but this one sounds legit to me.  Come up to the Big Apple sometime,and see what happens when Con Ed gets loose in the streets. June 13, 10:46 am | [comment link]

3. Karen B. wrote: Hard to judge this without knowing the cost of repairing the organ.  I don’t recall seeing that in the article, but I only skimmed it very quickly.  But certainly ECUSA is gaining something of a reputation of being “lawsuit happy” June 13, 2:34 pm | [comment link]

4. Tar Heel wrote: In Newark,  sorry I have not figured out how to do the “winky” thing on the new site, as you have, or I would have added one to my comment.  The suit may well have merit, but, as Karen B. has pointed out above, this story plays to the perception of TEC as being overly litigious. June 13, 2:40 pm | [comment link]

5. DonGander wrote: Grace! Or, graceless…. June 13, 4:38 pm | [comment link]

6. NWOhio Anglican wrote: Seems like an open-and-shut case to me. If my house was filled with steam for five days and all the family electronics corroded, I’d be looking for recompense. June 14, 12:36 pm | [comment link]

7. Ex-Catholic wrote: I’d have to see how this case comes along.  But I’d sue too if it happened to me. June 18, 11:28 am | [comment link]

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