Sunshine Coast school board sues after 7 school fields found riddled with trash

The school board on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast is suing the company it hired to refreshtopsoil on several of its fields, claiming the contractor supplied truckloads of garbage-laden turf instead of clean sod.

In a lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday, the board allegedTop Quality Top Soil told district staff seven of its freshly-soddedplaying fields were safe for studentswhen the grass waslater found to be ridden with shards ofplastic, broken glass, bits of ceramic and splintered wood.

"Top Quality expressly warranted that it carried the "highest quality soil on the coast," the lawsuit said.

"[The company]represented to the school board that the soil was suitable for use," the claim read. "Such representations were recklessly or negligently made by Top Soil, since the soil was unsuitable."

None of the board's claims has been tested in court. The company has not filed a response.

Thefields in Sechelt, Gibsons, Roberts Creek, Halfmoon Bay and Madeira Parkwere closed for 35 school days last fall after parents found garbage embedded in the turf just before the first day of classes. At the time, a district spokesperson said the sod had been redone as part of annual upkeep.

The lawsuit this week said the board hired Top Soil for the job in June 2018. The filingsaid the company agreed todeliver "compost material mixed with river sand" for the fields.

A school parentdiscovered the garbage on Sept. 1. The fields were closed three days later.

Maintenance workers spent more than 1,500 hours, or about 60 days, picking the trash out of the grass by hand. The fields onlyreopened after the board hired an environmental firm out of pocketto inspect the grass, according to the claim.

The board said it asked Top Soilfor$148,351 in January to cover the cost of the cleanup and environmental assessment, as well as compensation for the loss of the fields. The claim said the company has refused to pay.

CBCNews has reached out to the school district and businessfor comment.

A Top Soil employee who answered a phone call Thursday said he would consult with a lawyer before commenting, but did say the company planned to file a defence.