JULY 8, 2024:
STURGIS, S.D. – Citing substantial evidence of irrevocable and wanton damage to their property by the state, a summary judgment for inverse condemnation has been filed on behalf of class action members of the Hideaway Hills subdivision in Black Hawk, S.D.
The case dates to April 2020, when a sinkhole opened up in the neighborhood, revealing an abandoned state-operated gypsum mine.
Attorney Kathleen Barrow, representing the Hideaway Hills homeowners, says it’s time for a resolution and the state has done nothing to protect or compensate the Hideaway Hills families.
Earlier this year (2024), the court overseeing the class action took the unusual step of reopening the case. An additional 100 homeowners have since joined the litigation which seeks more than $60 million in total damages. The class now represents a reported 164 plaintiffs, including 12 homes in an evacuation zone and 158 more homes threatened by potential collapse.
Geotechnical testing on soils in the neighborhood has shown high concentrations of water-soluble gypsum in the fill dirt the state used to reclaim the acreage on which the subdivision was built. Testing indicates that the soils used by the state for mine reclamation contain an average of about 50 percent pulverized gypsum, with a high of 80 percent, leaving it prone to disintegration when exposed to moisture.
The case is set for trial later this year.
Story courtesy of News partner KBHB.
APRIL 11, 2024:
BLACK HAWK, S.D. – Professional engineers studying the Hideaway Hills subdivision in Black Hawk, S.D., site of a 2020 sinkhole over an abandoned state-operated gypsum mine, say the remaining homeowners should leave because soils under and around their homes contain gypsum and present a very serious threat to their lives and property.
Those opinions are contained in two reports on geotechnical testing and core sampling commissioned by attorneys at the Fox Rothschild law firm, which represents the homeowners in a class-action lawsuit against the state of South Dakota set for trial later this year.
The studies, performed by two Wyoming-based engineering firms, reveal three discrete but interconnected problems for the 158 homes at Hideaway Hills, chief among them the presence of pulverized gypsum in the subsurface soils under homes and roads, not just in the abandoned mine below the surface. Testing shows the soils utilized by the state for mine reclamation contain an average of about 25 percent pulverized gypsum, with a high of 80 percent. Some residents are living in areas with 40 feet of fill dirt, a majority of which is pulverized gypsum.
The engineers conclude that stabilizing the homes and streets at Hideaway Hills is not feasible and that the best use of the land is to demolish the homes and mitigate the mine by turning the area into open space.
Story courtesy of news partner KBHB.
SEPTEMBER 24, 2021:
BLACK HAWK, S.D. (AP) — A second phase of geophysical tests in a Rapid City area neighborhood where a sinkhole exposed an abandoned mine shows 30 additional homes may be affected. The sinkhole that exposed the old gypsum mine opened in April 2020 in the Black Hawk neighborhood where it has already forced 40 people to evacuate from 15 homes. Geoscientist Mohamed Khalil, with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, says the second phase shows the seasonal fluctuation of the groundwater table over the past few decades has created conditions for a sinkhole in any weak spot. The Fitzgerald Law Firm released the latest report on the geophysical testing in the neighborhood. It represents homeowners who have filed lawsuits in relation to the sinkhole.
JUNE 21, 2021:
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A study shows that an abandoned gypsum mine in Black Hawk that was exposed by a sinkhole in 2020 may extend farther than current mapped areas would indicate. Mohammad Sadeghi, a professor of geological engineering at Montana Technical University who led the study, says there’s the possibility that the mine extends below Interstate 90. The group recommends that further research be done in the area. More than 40 people from 15 homes in the Hideaway Hills neighborhood were forced to evacuate after the collapse in April 2020 in Black Hawk, which is located about eight miles northwest of Rapid City. The Rapid City Journal reports there are at least two lawsuits filed in relation to the collapse, one of which is one step closer to class-action status.
MAY 22, 2021:
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A judge has rejected the state of South Dakota’s argument that homeowners in a Black Hawk neighborhood lack legal standing to seek damages due to a sinkhole. The Rapid City Journal reports Judge Kevin Krull’s May 14 ruling may now proceed with class-action status, which would include any resident affected by the sinkhole that exposed an abandoned gypsum mine in April 2020. More than 40 people from 15 homes were forced to evacuate due to the sinkhole and mine.
MAY 26, 2020:
RAPID CITY, SD (KOTA Radio)- Homeowners affected by the Black Hawk sinkhole from past gypsum mining are banding together to sue the state, Meade County and individuals involved in the development and sale of that property for $75-million.
The suit seeks over $35-million in compensatory damages, and $40-million in exemplary damages. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial. John Fitzgerald of Rapid City is the attorney for the homeowners.
A 32-page document, dated May 24, outlines fourteen counts of negligence and endangerment against a host of defendants. The document gets officially filed in circuit court today (Tues.).
The document names the governments, people and companies involved in the current housing development, and outlines the use of the land for mining dating back to 1891. It also specifies the mining done on the land by the state, and by private companies, as well as the chain of knowledge of the unreclaimed underground cavity which they say has posed an ongoing public danger for decades.
A total of 15 families have been evacuated from homes over the underground cavity since a sinkhole opened up in late April.
