Maddalon Jewelers owner Joe Maddalon is at odds with borough officials over work being done near his business.

ZELIENOPLE — The owner of Maddalon Jewelers is suing the borough and a contractor it hired in 2016 for damages to his building.

Joe Maddalon, owner of Maddalon Jewelers, 107 S. Main St., is seeking up to $35,000 in damages from the borough and Terra Works Inc., a contractor it hired in 2016. The suit claims construction on the parking lot behind the Kaufman House at 105 S. Main St., caused his basement to flood.

The floodwater came in October 2016, about a month after Terra Works removed the paved driveway between the Kaufman House and Maddalon Jewelers.

“We've been here for 25 years and never had water problems because that was a driveway,” said Dave Maddalon, sales specialist at Maddalon Jewelers and Joe Maddalon's son. “So when it rained, the water would hit it and just fly out into the road.”

With the protection provided by the driveway gone, the Maddalons believe it was only a matter of time before flooding became a problem.

“We had a drought that summer and fall. Then one night it rained two inches, sat in the trench and came flooding into the basement,” Dave Maddalon said.

To read more about this story, read Sunday's Butler Eagle.