YOUNGSTOWN — The city settled a somewhat unusual lawsuit in which the street department cut down trees at a candy company.

The city admitted it cut the trees and brush at Big Dipper Food Co., a candy business at 50 Superior St., that abuts the street department. But it did so accidentally believing, it was on city-owned property, said Law Director Jeff Limbian.

“No good deed goes unpunished,” he said. “It’s so unfortunate. The city, through the street department, tried to do something nice. We made the area look better, but we exposed ourselves to a liability.”

The city’s board of control on Thursday approved settling the lawsuit for $15,247 with $9,708.65 for legal fees. The city had retained attorneys from Sutter O’Connell Co.’s Cleveland office for the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in February 2020, states the tree-cutting incident occurred in November 2018.

Limbian said the city settled for “far more than what I thought we should have, but it’s sometimes easier to settle than to fight it.”

The city’s insurance carrier, Tokio Marine HHC, recommended the settlement, he said, although the final decision rested with the city.

Scott Essad, Big Dipper’s attorney, said the city “very clearly harvested those trees on my client’s property without any notice, without any warning.”

Big Dipper provided the city “with the landscaping bill to make it right and they sat on it and sat on it” until the lawsuit was filed, Essad said.

The lawsuit stated Big Dipper spent $29,861 in landscaping fees planting 10 oak, 15 hemlock and 15 maple trees to replace what the city cut down. The lawsuit sought in excess of $25,000 in compensatory damages and more than $25,000 in punitive damages.

“We thought this was a fair settlement,” Essad said. “The city was going to try an immunity defense that they can cut down trees. That kind of offended me.”

Big Dipper makes specialized peanut brittle as well as other nut brittle and gourmet popcorn at its business on the city’s North Side.