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Family Sues U.S. Steel and Restaurant Owner Over Fatal Sinkhole at Abandoned Pennsylvania Mine

Attorneys say long-closed mine hazards near the restaurant were left unaddressed.

Overview

  • The wrongful-death suit, filed Thursday by Elizabeth Pollard’s husband through Morgan & Morgan, names U.S. Steel and Monday’s Union Restaurant owner Paul Iannuzzo.
  • The complaint alleges the defendants failed to inspect, maintain, remediate, or warn about dangerous ground conditions tied to the Marguerite mine, which closed in the 1950s.
  • Pollard, 64, fell about 30 feet in December 2024 while searching for her cat behind the restaurant, and crews recovered her body after a four-day search about 12 feet from the opening; her 5-year-old granddaughter was found unharmed in the car.
  • U.S. Steel said it is reviewing the lawsuit, and the restaurant owner declined to comment.
  • The filing also lists unknown additional parties U.S. Steel may have worked with, signaling a push to clarify who bears responsibility for conditions at the site.