An apartment complex is denying blame for injuries a Boothbay Harbor man claims he got when a snow-covered awning collapsed on him last winter. Statewide Bay Landing II is asking a judge to throw out George Larrabee’s civil suit.

If Larrabee suffered the injuries he claims he did, they were all or mostly his fault, or the fault of someone other than Statewide Bay Landing II, Portland attorney Kenneth Pierce argues in the complex’s answer, filed July 8 in Lincoln County Superior Court in Wiscasset.

The answer to Larrabee’s June lawsuit names no other parties as having possible involvement. The defense will be looking at what injuries occurred, whether they were due to other causes, and whether there were any potential issues with the awning itself, such as whether its load capacity should have been able to bear the amount of snow that was on it, Pierce said in a telephone interview July 14.

Larrabee’s suit claims that snow built up on the main entrance’s awning at the complex on Bay Landing Lane, and that Larrabee noticed the awning was “significantly lower” on Feb. 9; when he went under the awning, it collapsed on him, according to the suit. 

Based on that information, it appears Larrabee put himself in harm’s way by trying to pass under the awning, Pierce said in Tuesday’s interview.

If Larrabee had called the complex instead of going under the awning, the problem could have been addressed, Pierce said. Instead, Statewide Bay Landing II wasn’t aware there was a problem with the awning until after the incident, he said.

Statewide Bay Landing II’s filing also argues that any injuries Larrabee suffered resulted from “intervening or superseding events”; the document does not say what those events were.

In the answer, the complex admits to a claim the suit makes that the winter of 2014-2015 brought heavy snow to Boothbay Harbor. Pierce said Tuesday that the snow had not been on the awning for long; it was a recent occurrence due to weather, he said.

Larrabee’s lawyer, Christopher Harmon of Portland, did not immediately return messages. Larrabee has deferred comment to his lawyer.

Statewide Bay Landing II is seeking the suit’s dismissal and an award for costs.