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NASHVILLE, Ind. -- A judge has decided that the owners of a southern Indiana concert hall destroyed in an arson nearly two years ago aren't owed any insurance money because they didn't properly maintain the sprinkler system.
Brown County Judge Judith Stewart ruled that the insurance company had no obligation to pay for the $3 million fire at the Little Nashville Opry.
The Herald-Times of Bloomington reported the concert hall had received a nearly $10,500 insurance payment in 2006 to repair frozen pipes, but instead disconnected pipes to the sprinkler system.
The September 2009 fire leveled the 2,000-seat hall near Nashville that had hosted many of country music's most famous acts since it opened in 1975.
"That's a shame because it really was good for the town and it brought big name music people to town, which drew a crowd, and that's what we survive off of here is numbers and people," said resident Alan Everroad.
"I work in one of the stores and we see the difference. We used to have buses come to stay here. Now we don't have that anymore," said Irene Lecy.
The ruling also makes it very unlikely that hundreds of people who bought tickets to future shows will get their money back.
"I think with the Opry situation, the thing that's most disappointing for us is that people don't get their ticket refunds back," said Jane Ellis, executive director of the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau. "It's been a hard situation for us because people call wanting their money back and there isn't anything we can do for it."
No charges have been filed in connection with the fire.
Article from http://www.theindychannel.com/news/28484194/detail.html.
