TCS approves settlements in track lawsuit

TIFFIN — The Tiffin City School district's board of education met Monday and approved settlements with two companies over lawsuits related to the track installation at Tiffin Columbian High School in 2019. The board voted to accept the settlements. The board sued JBA Management Services, LLC in 2022 due to issues with the track which was described as "immediately flawed" in a previous board meeting. In 2023, the district was awarded $1,094,580 in Seneca County Common Pleas Court. Ohio Security Insurance Company sued the district and JBA Management Services in 2023. The company, the insurance provider for JBA Management Services, claimed it did not provide liability insurance coverage for JBA and, therefore, was not responsible for the $1 million awarded to the school district, according to court records. The insurance company and school district then engaged in negotiations in 2024. JBA Management Services will be paying a settlement of $50,000 and Ohio Security Insurance Company will pay $100,000. "While the Board is disappointed that we were not able to recover more of the cost of the track, the consensus was that continuing to incur additional legal expenses on this matter was not in the best interest of the district," said Board President Dustin Williams. "The board and the district have identified and implemented improvements in our large project planning and execution processes aimed at preventing similar situations to what had occurred with the previous track. We are all very excited to see our student-athletes competing in a full set of lanes on the new Columbian track this spring." Per a consent order between TCS and JBA, the district is still able to maintain action against North American Specialty Flooring Inc., and Town Tap Woodstock, Inc., for "the recovery of those entities' debt to JBA" to be applied towards the district's $1 million award in its lawsuit against JBA. The consent order also compels Paul Roeder, described in court documents as the "sole member of JBA Management Inc.," to give the board $287,509.24, which was "received by Roeder from JBA." The board is entitled to pursue action against Roeder.