MIDDLESEX TWP — The negligence lawsuit filed against the township, the Saxonburg Area Authority, Holy Sepulcher School and two companies over a 2007 accident has been settled for $200,000.

Jason and Stephanie Maust of Penn Township, the parents of Robert Maust, 20, have reached an agreement with all five defendants, ending the civil case initiated in 2009.

Although multiple attorneys working on the case cited a confidentiality clause prohibiting them from discussing the terms of the settlements, the Butler Eagle acquired a copy from the authority through a Right to Know request for public information.

Under the agreement, the township’s insurer paid the Mausts $85,000 while the authority paid $15,000.

Scot Fodi, township manager, said he had no reaction to the case being settled.

“I’m not aware of the settlement amount,” he said.

Attorney Joseph Luvara of the Pittsburgh firm Dickie, McCamey & Chilcote, who represented the township, said the Mausts won’t be able to renege on the agreement or file a new lawsuit.

“It’s a full and final release,” Luvara said.

On March 20, 2007, Robert Maust, who was 14 at the time, went down a retaining wall to a culvert along Old Route 8 to retrieve a basketball during a school recess.

A roughly 3,000-pound concrete block subsequently fell on Maust, pinning him underneath at about 12:30 p.m. Emergency crews worked for 90 minutes to extricate him.

Although Maust was mobile and alert, he was flown by medical helicopter to Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh as a precaution.

The Mausts filed the lawsuit two years later, alleging their son suffered permanent injuries from the accident.

Attorney Larry Lutz of the Butler firm Pawk & Lutz, who represented the Mausts, said Robert Maust’s back won’t ever heal.

“He’s basically got a bad, twisted back,” Lutz said.

He said Maust walks fine, but has ill-effects after doing anything rigorous.

“He has to choose whether to engage in certain activities,” Lutz said.

Lutz compared Maust’s back to that of an old man, but conceded Maust didn’t stop playing sports.

“He’s played hockey since that accident,” Lutz said.

Maust now attends St. Bonaventure University in New York.

The lawsuit alleged the township stacked multiple blocks such as the one that pinned Maust to create a makeshift retaining wall without fastening them in any way.

At the time, Luvara questioned what was meant by “fastened,” stating the blocks were interlocked.

Following the accident, a barricade blocked entry to the culvert. In the spring of 2010, the township replaced the wall of blocks.

“We just filled it up to grade level,” Fodi said.

Along with filling the gap with dirt, the stormwater drainage pipe was extended by 50 feet.

While the culvert was township property, the Mausts sued the authority on the claim that the construction project extending sewage service to Middlesex and Penn townships impacted the stability of the wall.

A sewer line was installed eight feet from the wall.

The authority denied any liability.

Jay Rinebolt, authority chairman, could not be reached for comment.

Paul Cornetti, authority manager, referred all questions to attorney Brian Gabriel of the Pittsburgh law firm of Campbell, Durrant & Beatty, who represents the authority through Inserveco Insurance Services.

Gabriel also would not discuss any settlement specifics, but he did say the authority’s portion was minimal.

“The authority is the smallest contributor to that settlement,” he said.

The Butler Eagle is not listing the settlement amounts for the other defendants because they are private entities.

The engineering firm Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, which has an office in Cranberry Township, was named as a defendant because it worked on the sewage project.

A voice-mail message left for Andrew Cardosi, office manager for Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, was not returned as of this morning.

The Alex E. Paris Contracting Co. of Atlasburg, Washington County, also was a defendant due to working on the project.

Alex Paris, president and chief executive officer for the company, declined to comment on the settlement.

Holy Sepulcher School, which is up the street from the culvert, was named in the complaint because Maust was not accompanied by an adult when he retrieved the ball during a school recess.

School and church administrators were unavailable for comment. Father Ron Lengwin, spokesman for the Diocese of Pittsburgh, also would not discuss the agreement.

“The settlement has been reached and we’re pleased that has happened,” Lengwin said in a voice message.

All the parties participated in mediation through June, which led to the settlement.