Nine of 10 food court vendors at the Roanoke City Market building reported today that they have authorized lawyer John Fishwick to sue the city government for damages and lost profits incurred during a two-week shutdown ordered by the city last month.

Vendors and Fishwick allege that the city has been a negligent landlord and that this disregard was directly responsible for a widespread infestation of mice discovered in the building in September by inspectors from the Virginia Department of Health.

City officials closed the building Sept. 19 after VDH suspended the operating licenses of the 10 food sellers in the city-owned and managed building. The building and the food sellers reopened Oct. 4 after ambitious repairs, cleaning and follow-up inspections by the health department.

A letter from Fishwick to City Manager Darlene Burcham contends that health ordinance violations stemmed "directly from the city’s own preventable neglect to the building."

Brian Townsend, assistant city manager for community development, said Tuesday evening that he had seen Fishwick's letter. He said the city does not comment "about anything that may involve pending litigation."

Both Fishwick and food court vendor Anita Wilson, co-owner of Burger in the Square, emphasized that the goal is not litigation but negotiation.

He said the vendors want to talk about lost profits, about whether they will be asked to share costs of recent repairs and about the building’s future fate.