The Central Valley Fire District asked a Gallatin County judge Wednesday to throw out a lawsuit that claims the fire district doesn’t have the authority to enforce state fire codes on a wedding venue in the Belgrade area.
Foster Creek Farm filed the lawsuit against the fire district in Gallatin County District Court in May.
The farm built a barn for weddings in 2016, according to court documents. The state inspected and approved the barn for occupancy, but the fire district issued a fire code violation in 2017 for not having a fire sprinkler system.
The farm is asking a judge to uphold the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s Building Standards Division’s occupancy approval, which didn’t require a fire sprinkler system. It is also asking the court to order the fire district to pay any damages related to the lawsuit.
In its motion to dismiss the case, the fire district said it has the right to enforce state fire codes.
It claims the state building division’s occupancy approval is not a legal certificate of occupancy, and that the farm did not have authority to build a wedding venue that violated fire codes.