Attorneys for Cynthia and Robert Madej have filed civil complaint against Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden and Commissioners Lenny Eliason, Chris Chmiel and Charlie Adkins. The Madejs are seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the use of petrochemical-based products to repair roads within a mile of their home.

Attorneys for Cynthia and Robert Madej have filed civil complaint against Athens County Engineer Jeff Maiden and Commissioners Lenny Eliason, Chris Chmiel and Charlie Adkins. The Madejs are seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent the use of petrochemical-based products to repair roads within a mile of their home.

Attorneys for an Athens County couple have filed a civil complaint and temporary restraining order to stop the use of petrochemicals to repair Dutch Creek Road and other roads within a mile radius of their home.

Plaintiffs Cynthia and Robert Madej, who live on Dutch Creek Road, name county Engineer Jeff Maiden and commissioners Lenny Eliason, Charlie Adkins and Chris Chmiel as defendants in the civil complaint filed in Athens County Common Pleas Court.

A recusal was filed, so the court will assign a visiting judge to the case. One had not been assigned as of Wednesday morning. County officials cannot comment on pending litigation.

The Madejs are represented by attorneys David Ball and Fazeel Khan. Ball is with Rosenberg & Ball Co., LPA, in Granville, while Khan is with Haynes, Kessler, Myers and Postalakis Inc., in Worthington.

Athens County has an insurance company that will consult with the prosecutor’s office to provide counsel to the defendants.

The temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction asked the judge to prevent Maiden from applying any additional petrochemical-based road surfacing, maintenance products or dust-control products within a one-mile radius of the Madej’s home. These roads include the “section of Dutch Creek Road from its intersection with Stanley Road to its intersection with SR550, and the section of Dutch Creek Road from its intersection with Stanley Road to its intersection with SR550, and the section of North Peach Ridge Road that lies within a one mile radius of Plaintiffs’ home.”

Maiden would also be required to provide at least three days advance notice for small projects and 30 days advance notice of larger projects on Dutch Creek Road or North Peach Ridge Road.

He would also be required to remove asphalt applied to North Peach Ridge Road in late June. Commissioners Eliason, Chmiel and Adkins would be required to rescind their approval of the projects on Dutch Creek and Peach Ridge roads.

During the Athens County Board of Commissioners meeting on July 26, the board approved a contact between the engineer’s office and Shelly Company to chip and seal Dutch Creek Road. The company also did work on nearby County Road 34/Mush Run Road, County Road 36/Hopper Ridge Road and County Road 26/North Peach Ridge Road.

In the complaint, Cynthia Madej is “substantially impaired by a disability that makes her extremely sensitive to petrochemicals, including asphalt. Every time Defendant Jeff Maiden, the county engineer, directs his crews to use asphalt and other petroleum products on roads within approximately one mile of the Madej house, she suffers from severe reactions that exacerbate her impairments and her ability to engage in major life activities and enjoy her home.”

The document says Maiden should reasonably accommodate Cynthia Madej, whose disabilities include chemical sensitivity, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, by using available alternatives at a comparable cost. “There are alternative road treatment methods that do not use asphalt products yet are just as effective in maintaining roads. … These products would substantially decreases the impact on Plaintiff Cynthia Madej’s disability and allow her to participate equally in many life activities.”

The complaint says Maiden won’t consider alternative products because he is “quite stubborn. Defendant Maiden does not want anyone telling him how to do his job, even if his way causes severe impairment of a disable person such as Ms. Madej. This is evidenced by Defendant Maiden’s refusal to have any meaningful discussion with the Plaintiffs regarding the alternatives or any other solutions.”

The complaint charges that Maiden should be removed as county engineer, which is an elected post, by civil action. The document has 148 paragraphs that the plaintiffs’ attorneys say support this action.

Charges of violating several sections of Ohio Revised Code are levied against both Maiden and the commissioners. Those violations are part of the plaintiffs’ charge that Maiden should be removed from office.

All defendants are accused of engaging in unlawful discriminatory practice by interfering with the Madejs’ civil rights, by causing and will cause physical harm to Cynthia Madej that could result in her death and severe emotional distress to her and her husband.

Maiden is accused of discriminating against the Madejs by not allowing them to access their home by not providing advance notice of his agency’s work plans within a mile of the Madejs’ home. The commissioners are accused of aiding and abetting Maiden in this violation of Ohio Revised Code.

Maiden is also accused of submitting false writings and making false statements during official proceedings, both in an attempt to influence public officials .

The complaint also states that commissioners failed to perform their duties by not ensuring the roads are accessible to people with disabilities, by not overseeing Maiden’s performance and by not ensuring the county assigned responsible employees.

Also the complaint says that under Ohio Revised Code, Maiden’s conduct toward the Madejs constituted assault and/or felonious assault by proceeding with chip and seal surface. Cynthia Madej will suffer “immediate and irreparable injury, including deprivation of fundamental rights, substantial limitation for major life activities, serious physical injury and possible death.” The project would also cause severe emotional distress to the couple.

Maiden is also charged with complicity because he directed his staff to perform the unlawful activities mentioned in the complaint and has caused people on his staff to participate with him in committing the criminal offenses described in the document.

According to court documents, the Madejs are seeking:

The Madejs have sued the county before to prevent similar work on Dutch Creek Road.

In a ruling issued in February 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision from Oct. 17, 2018, that resulted in a dismissal with prejudice (meaning permanently) of the Madejs’ claims.

As previously reported by The Messenger, the Madejs pursued a lawsuit against Maiden in U.S. District Court in an attempt to prevent him from using chip-and-seal paving near their home on Dutch Creek Road.

The Madejs claimed that asphalt would harm Cynthia Madej because she suffers from multiple chemical sensitivities and other health problems. In October 2018, a district court ruled that medical testimony from her doctors and an expert witness was not admissible. The judge issued a summary judgment in favor of Maiden, which the Madejs appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

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