Bank sues for damages from 2019 fire

Wells Fargo Bank filed a lawsuit Thursday against Praveen Khurana and his Top Restaurant Investment limited liability company over alleged damages sustained during and after the December 2019 fire that destroyed the Emperor of India King Thai restaurant.

The action adds to the legal woes for Khurana, who has also been charged with 22 zoning code violations because of his alleged failure to clean up the burned-out properties at 858 and 854 Main St., which adjoin the downtown Lewiston branch of the San Francisco-based bank. His trial in the zoning matter has been delayed twice because of pandemic restrictions, but it is now scheduled for February.

The property is also the subject of an abatement action by the city of Lewiston, which has faced growing pressure to remove the public safety hazard it says the burned-out structure presents to the public. City Manager Alan Nygaard said his staff has been outlining the work that needs to be done at the site so the city can request bids for the project as soon as next week.

Once a contractor is hired, Nygaard said the city has the legal authority under Idaho law to go onto Khurana’s private property to remove public safety nuisances. That includes filling in the basement to keep people from falling in, he said.

Khurana took some legal action of his own earlier this week, filing a lawsuit against Auto-Owners Insurance of Lansing, Mich., over its decision to not pay Khurana’s claim after the fire. The Idaho State Fire Marshal’s office listed the cause of the fire as “undetermined” after a yearlong investigation that was delayed by the pandemic. The insurance company did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

The Wells Fargo lawsuit claims specific damages of $17,134.45 from the smoke and water that infiltrated the building at the time of the fire. It also claims the defendant trespassed by allowing fire, smoke, water and other contaminants to enter Wells Fargo’s property. That section of the lawsuit claims damages to be determined at trial.

“Defendants, through improperly maintaining the building, failing to install fire safety mechanisms, and not meeting required codes, proximately caused significant damage to Wells Fargo,” the lawsuit states.

City of Lewiston Building Official John Smith said Khurana was hit with an additional misdemeanor zoning code violation last month after he allegedly tried to sporadically clean up the property after the city issued a stop-work order when his abatement efforts were deemed insufficient. Smith will provide the city council with an update on the abatement efforts at its Dec. 20 meeting.

Smith also addressed the issue of Khurana apparently trying to live in the rubble of his old restaurant. Khurana still receives his mail there, but the building is condemned and without power or water service, so human habitation is not allowed. The neighborhood is also zoned to prohibit residential use on any building’s first floor, he added.

Lewiston police have informed Khurana on at least one occasion that he is not allowed to reside there, Smith said. But as the property owner, he is allowed to enter the site for other purposes.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com