The City of Crossville is being sued after not releasing reports of the investigations into the closing of The Village Inn.
John Nisbet of Livingston has filed a lawsuit representing Steve Threet, who was the manager of The Village Inn in Crossville.
The Village Inn, located at the corner of North Main Street and Burnett Street was condemned one morning in July of 2022 after officials said multiple safety violations were discovered among the 64 units. Crossville Police had requested the City Fire’s assistance after executing a search warrant in a drug raid on one unit. Less than 24 hours after being condemned, residents were allowed to return to their homes the next day. The City Attorney said there were “procedural errors” with the evictions.
The City of Crossville hired a Chattanooga law firm to investigate the actions of the City Manager, police, and other agencies involved in the raid and eviction of all tenants of the Village Inn. The cost of the investigation to the City was $10,000.
Several media requests have been made to see the finalized report of the Chattanooga law firm but have been refused.
Nisbet and Threet are requesting that all Village Inn records are public with no exemption. They also ask for them to provide copies of those records immediately because according to Tennessee Public Records Act, the state law grants Tennessee citizens access to public records.
