Concord landowner Kevin Guay has sued city and state officials for $55 million in damages after they tore up his property while searching for pollution.

"Despite all the excavations and samples taken from the properties of the plaintiff, no shred of evidence has ever been produced that there was any type of pollution," Guay wrote in the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court on Friday.

Guay is asking for $5 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages from five defendants: state Department of Environmental Services Commissioner Thomas Burack, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the Concord Police Department, Concord police Detective Sean Ford and the city of Concord.

City Solicitor Paul Cavanaugh and Concord police Chief Robert Barry both said they were still reviewing the lawsuit and referred questions to the attorney general's office. A spokesman for the Department of Environmental Services also referred questions to the attorney general. The parties have 20 days to file a response.

"We are in process of reviewing (the suit) and will fully respond within the deadline," said Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards.

The lawsuit stems from three days in late March when state and city officials blocked off two of Guay's properties, at 180 Clinton St. and 30 Villanova Drive. The Concord police barred Guay from entering the sites as officials from DES conducted a search.

According to a request for a search warrant filed with Concord District Court, the officials believed there was probable cause for criminal violations of statutes relating to asbestos management, oil discharge, hazardous material, solid waste management, and water pollution and waste disposal.

The state asked for permission to seize and sample any waste material buried on the two properties and any evidence of improper disposal of the materials. At the Clinton Street property, they also asked for permission to document the septic system "to include the hose, pump or other items used to illegally pump brown water out of the tank onto the ground."

Because the search warrant and any supporting documents are sealed at the Concord District Court, there is no way of knowing on what evidence the application for a search warrant was based. Lauren Noether, senior assistant attorney general for the state Justice Department's environmental protection bureau, said Guay has not yet been charged, but he is still under investigation.

"There's not a criminal case at this point," Noether said.

Neither Edwards nor Noether would answer specific questions about the investigation since it is ongoing.

According to the lawsuit filed by Guay, agents from the Department of Environmental Services came onto his properties in March and "began to destroy the property with heavy equipment such as excavators and backhoes." The septic system at the Clinton Street property was damaged, and holes were dug around the property. The buildings were searched and ransacked, Guay wrote.

State agents severed the underground electric service at Villanova Drive and left a pile of excavated dirt on the property, Guay wrote. They also denied him access to his properties at 31, 17 and 12 Villanova Drive, even though those homes were not included in the search warrant.

After the state left the property, rain caused the dirt pile on Villanova Drive to erode into Penacook Lake. According to Guay, the state attorney general then tried to seek an injunction and order Guay to pay to stabilize the property. Guay told the Monitor that after the dirt flowed into Penacook Lake for five days, state officials asked Guay's attorney for permission to return to the property and stabilize the land. Although the state and Guay have been arguing over the stabilization of the Villanova Drive property for years in a separate lawsuit, no record of this injunction could be found at Concord District Court or Merrimack County Superior Court.

Guay accused the city and state officials of malicious prosecution, malicious abuse of process, conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligent infliction of emotional distress. "Plaintiff was deprived his liberty to occupy his property and his right to equal protection under the laws," Guay wrote.

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