NEWPORT — City officials Wednesday responded to a $3.5 million suit from Cinergy by denying liability for an October 2000 water main break that sent water into 3,708 home gas lines and left thousands without heat and water for days.

        Union Light, Heat and Power Co., a Cinergy affiliate in Northern Kentucky, filed the action Tuesday in Campbell Circuit Court seeking direct and punitive damages from the city and its insurer, Kentucky Municipal Risk Management Association.

        “We knew it (lawsuit) was coming, but we didn't expect to find out about it from a press release,” Newport City Manager Phil Ciafardini said.

        “We've been trying to mediate this for some time, and our insurance company was taking the lead. It was disappointing that (Cinergy) would send out a press release that they had filed suit before letting us know about it.”

        The lawsuit claims that a city-owned water main at the Newport Shopping Center failed and caused damage to an adjacent gas main, allowing water, dirt, sand and gravel to infiltrate the line and be carried to gas lines and meters.

        The water mixing in the gas lines, which forced Cinergy to shut down gas furnaces and water heaters in affected homes, occurred during a cold snap with temperatures well below freezing. Some homes were without gas — and heat — for a week or more.

        A Cinergy spokesman said Wednesday the company would not comment on the suit other than a statement attributed to John C. Procario, vice president and chief operating officer of Cinergy's regulated businesses, in which he said Newport and its insurer failed to address Cinergy's claims and forced the legal action.

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