Widow of Sun Prairie firefighter killed in explosion sued for money owed on destroyed Barr House

Complaint: Payment issues started before explosion

Site staff by Site Contributor

The wife of a volunteer firefighter killed in an explosion in downtown Sun Prairie is being sued for $138,000 due to the money owed on the local bar they owned together, according to lawsuit documents.

Capt. Cory Barr was a firefighter, local business owner and father. He was killed in an explosion in downtown Sun Prairie last summer. He co-owned the Barr House with his wife, Abby Barr, and was the captain of the Sun Prairie Volunteer Fire Department. The Barr House was destroyed in the explosion and has been closed since.

According to documents from a lawsuit filed on April 12, The Barr House and Abby Barr are being sued by Ski and Ski LLC. The lawsuit says the Barrs entered a four-year agreement to buy the Barr House for $170,000 in September 2016.

Prior to the purchase, the bar was known as Ski’s Saloon and owned by Tony and April Hudzinski. In a Sun Prairie Star article about the purchase, the Hudzinskis said, “We couldn’t imagine passing the torch onto anyone else.”

The complaint lists 22 late payment dating back to Oct. 3, 2016. The most recent late payment listed was on July 2, 2018, which was just eight days before the fatal explosion.

The complaint alleges that the Barr House owners have not made any payments on the outstanding balance since Oct. 1, 2018. Ski and Ski claims that the defendants “neglected and refused” to pay any amount on what’s due despite written demands.

The remaining balance is more than $124,000 and the complaint said the business also accumulated more than $13,000 in penalties and interest. The lawsuit calls for a judge to order Abby Barr and the Barr House to pay for damages of $137,874 with an interest rate of 16% from the date of detail, as well as legal fees.

There are no future court dates scheduled for the lawsuit at this time. Abby Barr has 20 days to respond to the summons.

Abby Barr is currently a plaintiff in a separate, wrongful death lawsuit. She and the two firefighters injured in the explosion are suing the four companies involved in the construction project that authorities believe led to the explosion. News 3 Now has reached out to Abby Barr’s attoney in this lawsuit, but he was not immediately available to comment.

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