LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Baker Hill Road District has filed another lawsuit against the Berkshire Mall in pursuit of taxes.

 

On Friday, the district, which was created as a taxing entity and in charge of maintaining the connector road, filed a lawsuit seeking taxes owed for this year. The new suit comes after the district was successful in being awarded in Berkshire Superior Court close to $300,000 in back taxes.

 

"The collector mailed [Berkshire Mall Realty Holding] seven tax bills for the district on or before January 1, 2019, in the total amount of $115,464.74 which tax bills were due payable on February 4, 2019," attorney Mark Siegars wrote in the filing. 

 

"BMRHC failed to pay those tax bills, set forth in Exhibit A, for the district on or before the payment deadline of February 4, 2019."

 

The Baker Hill Road District is now seeking $117,722.87 in total, between the unpaid bill plus interest. The district is seeking an attachment, linking the order to the real estate.

 

The case is similar to one filed in December in which the district was awarded $274,000 plus interest. That was for the first two quarters of last year and execution of that debt was signed off on in early to mid-March of this year.

 

Now that the next bills are overdue, it seems the Baker Hill Road District is wasting little time in seeking a court order to recover this year's taxes.

 

The newest filing came as the mall had been closed more than a week. The shopping center closed March 20 and had remained closed until stores began to re-open on March 29. Mall management said the problem was a lack of power — something that has led to multiple closures in the past.