Pizza shop owner sued by insurance company

March 16, 2009|By ERIN JULIUS

HAGERSTOWN --Â The owner of Rocky's Pizza Palace was named in a lawsuit filed March 11 in Washington County Circuit Court by an insurance company asking for $88,123.05 it paid out following an Aug. 31, 2008, fire at the pizzeria on Hagerstown's Public Square.

Frederick Mutual Insurance Co., the insurer for One North Potomac Street LLC, which owned the property, alleged in the suit that the fire "originated from and/or as a result of the defendant's negligent cooking and/or supervision at the Insured Property."

The suit names as defendants Vincenzo "Vinnie" Schiano-DiCola, the owner of the pizza shop, and Zachary Scott Myers, an employee there.

DiCola said Monday he was unaware of the court action.

"This is news to me," DiCola said in a telephone conversation Monday afternoon.

The morning fire gutted Rocky's, damaging equipment, wiring, plumbing, flooring, ceiling and the air-conditioning system, DiCola said the day of the fire.

He estimated then that the fire caused about $150,000 in damage.

DiCola lived in an apartment above the pizza shop. He was quoted as saying he smelled smoke before the smoke detector went off, got his roommate up and got out of the building.

The building recently was purchased by Demcore Development, which owns several other downtown properties, The Herald-Mail reported.

DiCola in February told Washington County liquor board officials that he plans to reopen the business May 1 at a new location, 40 N. Potomac St., The Herald-Mail reported.

Rocky's had been at the corner of North Potomac and West Washington streets since 1968, DiCola said at the time of the fire.

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