LOGAN, Utah (AP) -- A former Logan man whose house was severely damaged in a 2009 landslide following a canal break has filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Logan and the Utah Department of Transportation.

The Logan Northern Canal broke July 11, 2009, sending a flood of water and earth onto Canyon Road. The slide wiped out one home, killing a family of three. Area residents were evacuated and kept out for about four days.

Papers filed in 1st District Court on behalf of homeowner Sean Bartschi contend that city and state leaders knew a slide could occur. Bartschi, who has since moved to Montpelier, Idaho, filed the lawsuit last month.

Also named as a defendant in the lawsuit is the Northern Canal Company,

The lawsuit contends that officials knew about previous slides and studies that deemed the slope unstable, had held public meetings to discuss a need for hillside monitoring and had considered moving residents.

"Logan City, UDOT, and the Northern Company were aware of the results of these studies, but failed to take appropriate and necessary actions to make the canal safe," court papers state.

In addition, the lawsuit alleges that because the city owned water shares and had done occasional maintenance on the canal, it is "at least in part responsible for safe and proper upkeep."

Logan City Attorney Kymber Housley declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation, according to a Logan Herald-Journal story on Thursday.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $250,000 from both the city and state as compensation for the loss of Bartschi's home and rental revenue. It also asks for unspecified damages for Bartschi's emotional distress.