Gunnison gasoline leak spurs suit

MANTI — Wind River Petroleum, the parent company of Top Stop Convenience Stores, found itself on the defending end of a civil lawsuit this week in regard to last summer's gasoline leak in Gunnison.

Wednesday, attorneys for Lila Lee Christensen, owner of Lila Lee Apparel in Gunnison, filed suit in 6th District Court, alleging the leak caused her and her business damage.

"Although Wind River is wholly to blame for Lila Lee's situation, Wind River has refused to take responsibility. Accordingly, Lila Lee has been forced to resort to the judicial process to hold Wind River responsible," the case states.

Wind River president Craig Larson called the lawsuit "unfortunate."

"We tried to communicate with Lila Lee and tried to find a resolution to the matter, and she chose not to. She turned a damage claim in to the state. It was so far-fetched that it made no sense," Larson said. "We asked her to get an attorney and get in touch with us and we'd be happy to talk."

The attorney she got. Talk she did not.

The filing came just one week after Larson defended his company in a public relations battle over charges that the company did not take seriously the 20,000-gallon gas leak. At the same time, the company became the subject of an attorney general's criminal investigation into the matter.

Christensen's lawsuit names Top Stop, Wind River and two other companies whose irresponsibility, she claims, devastated her professionally and personally.

Christensen is the owner of Lila Lee Apparel, a dress shop that went out of business last fall because of the leak.

The lawsuit alleges that the leak ruined Christensen's business and property, caused physical and emotional damage to Christensen herself and possibly compromised her future health.

Christensen and her lawyers have demanded a jury trial to judge whether Wind River was responsible and to determine the amount of damages.

Lila Lee Apparel had been in business since 1951. Christensen owned and operated it since 1991, when she purchased it from her mother. The shop was well-respected in the Gunnison business community, having a reputation and customer base that extended nationwide. In 2006, Christensen sold more than 600 prom dresses. Based on the median value of the $400 to $3,000 prices of the dresses they would have generated more than $1 million in sales.