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Owner of antiques lost in fire sues Villa

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By Dustin Lemmon | Tuesday, July 17, 2007 12:03 AM CDT | () comments

The owner of several pieces of furniture and historic memorabilia that were destroyed by fire in the Villa de Chantal two years ago has filed suit against the current and former owners of the Rock Island property.

William Greenfield of Davenport filed the suit against Joseph Seng and Christopher Ales in Rock Island County Circuit Court. He hopes to recover $210,000 in damages.

According to the suit, Greenfield had historic memorabilia, furniture, office equipment and antiques stored in the building, where the items were used to furnish the property from January 1998 until the fire in mid-July 2005. Much of the structure was heavily damaged.

Greenfield claims he made an agreement to keep the items at the Villa de Chantal, 2000 16th Ave., with Seng, of Davenport, who owned the property from 1991 to 2004. Ales, a Moline resident, is the current owner.

The suit claims the defendants failed to name Greenfield on their insurance policy or make other attempts to compensate him.

Efforts to reach Seng, a Democratic state senator from Davenport, and Ales, a developer who specializes in renovating historic structures, for comment were unsuccessful Monday.

In March 2006, Villa L.C. filed a lawsuit in Rock Island County Circuit Court against Hartford Fire Insurance Co. of Connecticut and Trissel Graham and Toole Inc., a business insurance firm based in Davenport.

That suit concerns $2.4 million in unpaid insurance coverage. The case is still pending in court.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.