A Shelbyville-based concrete and aggregate materials supplier has filed a lawsuit against five Columbus-area residents, accusing them of intentionally misdirecting hundreds of loads of stones for unauthorized and illegal use over a period of several years.
The lawsuit, filed Oct. 13 in Shelby County Court by Shelby Materials, alleges that Hope residents Daryn Romine and Ryan Ream, as well as Columbus residents Frank and Karen Fiesbeck and Scott Jahrries of North Vernon, unlawfully misdirected shipments of stones belonging to the company and used them for their tiling, excavation and farming operations.
The Frank H. Fiesbeck Irrevocable Trust and Karen K. Fiesbeck Irrevocable Trust also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Shelby Materials alleges in the complaint that it had hired two outside companies — Robertson Paving Inc. and Central Trucking Inc. — for several years to haul shipments of stones purchased from a quarry in Flat Rock to, among other places, various facilities in central Indiana, where the stones would be used to make ready-mix concrete.
However, various amounts of stone never made it to their final destination and were instead unlawfully taken to other locations for the defendants’ unauthorized and illegal use “on numerous occasions throughout the last several years” — including “several hundred loads” for a building pad for the Fiesbecks on land owned by the trusts in Bartholomew County, the complaint alleges.
Currently, it is unclear exactly where the stones were allegedly taken, as the lawsuit does not include the address of the property in question. County records show that the trusts own two parcels of land in Sandcreek Township in southeastern Bartholomew County.
No permits have been issued for work performed on either property over the past year, county officials said.
The complaint further alleges that Romine, who is identified in the lawsuit as the Fiesbecks’ son-in-law, and Ream, who allegedly worked for Romine at various times, “encouraged” a truck driver hired to haul shipments to Shelby Materials facilities to provide them with loads of stone that belonged to the company “with knowledge that the stone had been unlawfully taken.”
Jahrries is identified in the lawsuit as a truck driver for Central Trucking who was tasked with transporting at least some of the shipments for Shelby Materials. Another truck driver was mentioned in the lawsuit but not named as a defendant.
“Defendants Romine and Ream then used the loads of stone at various tiling and excavation projects,” the lawsuit states.
Business filings with the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office list Romine as the registered agent of Romine Tile Service LLC in Hope. Romine Tile Service LLC has received payment from the Bartholomew County government in the past.
The defendants, for their part, have requested and been granted extensions to file their responses to the allegations in the lawsuit.
Shelby Materials is seeking monetary damages, plus attorney fees and other relief, the complaint states.
No criminal charges have been filed in regards to this case, according to court records.
Claims made in filing a lawsuit represent only one side of the case and may be contested in later court action.
