Wednesday marks three years since an explosion and fire ripped through the historic corner of 11th and Howard in Omaha's Old Market. The fire destroyed a number of businesses and homes and while some have moved back in, there is still an ongoing battle.
M's Pub and Nouvelle Eve are both back in business, and some residents have returned to their apartments, but court battles rage on. There are currently fifteen lawsuits working their way through the court system.
Pat Borchers with Creighton University School of Law says there are a number of reasons the court cases haven't been settled yet. "There's a lot of money involved, so that meant the damages were very large. Thank God no one died, which is one of the minor miracles of the case. There's a lot to figure out. It'a a complex case."
Several months after the explosion, the state fire marshal determined that the natural gas pipeline hit by a fiber-optics digging crew was not adequately marked by the Metropolitan Utilities Department. M.U.D. has disputed those findings.
The first trial is expected to begin in December.