Family of second St. Paul sewer worker killed in '07 sues

Dave Yasis was 23, engaged to be married and just beginning his working life when he was killed. He was one of two sewer workers swept into the Mississippi River when the tunnels in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood flooded during a sudden downpour on July 26, 2007.

His large and close-knit family is now suing the city of St. Paul and the contractor hired to oversee the work in the tunnels. Notification of the lawsuit was included in a St. Paul City Council agenda released late Thursday.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the survivors of Yasis' co-worker, Joe Harlow, was settled out of court last month. Terms weren't made public.

The lawsuit names as plaintiffs Yasis' cousins Alan Eleria and Darwin Yasis, acting as co-trustees for Yasis' heirs; the defendants are the city and Charles R. Nelson & Associates Inc., doing business as CNA Consulting Engineers.

Yasis, of Maplewood, and Harlow, of Plainview, Minn., were employed by Lametti & Sons Inc., of Hugo, which did the actual sewer rehabilitation work. That company is not listed as a defendant.

The lawsuit contends that CNA Consulting Engineers "negligently and carelessly" caused Yasis' death "by failing to maintain a safe work environment." The city "was negligent in its management of the on-site safety procedures" and "failed to heed the warnings of their trusted employee."

Ron Edlund, safety coordinator for the city's Public Works Department, had sent an e-mail to Bruce Beese, director of public works, "expressing extreme safety concerns for this project just days before the drowning of Mr. Yasis," the lawsuit said.

City Attorney John Choi said Thursday that he hadn't had a chance to review the complaint. He said he's sure "the allegations arise from the same incident [as the Harlow lawsuit], therefore the indemnification provisions in the contract will protect the city from any loss."

The city's contract included a stipulation that the contractor would indemnify the city and hold it harmless, Choi said.

A representative of CNA Consulting Engineers could not be reached to comment.

Attorney Harry Sieben represented Harlow's survivors and represents Yasis' family. He said the Harlow lawsuit included a year or so of litigation before it was settled.

"Most of the litigation efforts centered on what happened, how it happened and who was at fault," he said. "Most of that work has been done. In the Yasis case, I suspect main effort will be to educate city of St. Paul and CNA Consulting Engineers about the terrible loss to the Yasis family."