Travelers, the insurance company representing the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, has filed a lawsuit against the Nashville Downtown Partnership, Block by Block and SMS Holdings Corporation for $10 million in damages related to last summer’s fire in the Nashville Public Library garage downtown.
The suit was filed late on Thursday in the Circuit Court for Davidson County by Gail Vaughn Ashworth, representing Travelers.
A fire broke out on June 10, 2025, in a fourth-floor storage room located within the seven-story library garage. The Church Street library, which reopened in March, suffered some smoke damage.
Later, flammable gas containers were discovered in the storage space. An investigation found no official determination but ruled out certain theories, which left electrical failure as the likely cause.
Pictures indicate several canisters’ worth of flammable gas could have fueled blaze that damaged Metro’s downtown library garage
The lawsuit states that, as a result of the fire, Travelers will make insurance payments in excess of $10 million to Metro. The suit alleges negligence, gross negligence and breach of contract by the Nashville Downtown Partnership.
According to the suit, the partnership "changed the use of the property from a parking garage to a storage yard ... constructing an impermissible combustible storage shed within the property."
The suit also sets forth counts of negligence and gross negligence against contractor Block by Block, which provided "cleaning and safety initiatives for the surrounding area" and "stored combustible materials within the storage yard at the property." The company is also cited as constructing the storage shed and allowing employees to smoke on the property.
The lawsuit does not mention the investigation or an electrical failure.
The Nashville Downtown Partnership has yet to respond to the suit.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
