HOLYOKE — The city of Holyoke is suing several companies over what it says are defects in the $1.4 million turf field installed at Holyoke High School in 2017.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this year, the city alleges that beginning in 2018 the synthetic turf at Roberts Sports Complex started wrinkling and shrinking in areas, with seams splitting and the edge of the field pulling away from its perimeter. The lawsuit names three defendants: Chicopee’s Mountain View Landscapes and Lawncare, which sold and installed the turf; BSC Group, a Boston business that oversaw quality control; and Sprinturf LLC, a South Carolina turf manufacturer.

“The aforementioned defects continue to this date unremedied or unrepaired rendering the field unsuitable for sports and recreational use,” the lawsuit claims. “Therefore, worthless.”

The city signed a contract with Mountain View in May 2016 for $1,447,250. The city is now claiming that Mountain View was negligent in designing, planning, and installing and making improvements to the field, and that it breached its contract with the city.

Sprinturf and BSC did not respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Mountain View President Stephen Corrigan said that the company had received the lawsuit and turned it over to its lawyer.

“Mountain View denies the allegations in the complaint,” Corrigan said. “However, because this is pending litigation we cannot comment further.”

City officials declined to comment for the story, citing the pending litigation. A spokesperson for Holyoke Public Schools did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In its lawsuit, the city alleges that Mountain View improperly anchored the edges of the turf, and that BSC “assessed, engineered, designed and approved” those methods. The lawsuit also alleges that Sprinturf’s turf “has proven to contract beyond acceptable industry standards.”

In particular, the lawsuit alleges that Mountain View attached the edges of the field to a wooden “nailer,” which was itself attached atop a concrete curb instead of the “recommended industry practice” of attaching the nailer to the side of the curb. The city also alleges that Mountain View also used a nail gun to attach the nailer to the curb instead of stainless steel concrete screws and washers.

The city has filed for a jury trial in the case.

Dusty Christensen can be reached at dchristensen@gazettenet.com.]]>