A Carroll County Superior Court judge has ruled that the company constructing the new justice center parking garage must move a mound of dirt adjacent to a building owned by the family of the late Tracy Stallings, a former Carrollton mayor and state representative.

The decision follows speculation that the presence of the dirt abutting the Stallings building has caused structural damage to the building itself and may ultimately require it to be demolished.

Carroll County Superior Court Judge John Simpson ruled on Tuesday that MWC Construction, a Carrollton-based company in the process of building the downtown parking garage, must move a large pile dirt — which rises about 20 feet above ground level — that sits next to the Stallings building.

Gary Bunch, an attorney representing the Stallings family, contends the dirt has caused water to leak into the Stallings building and has made the foundation unsafe. The judge’s ruling paves the way for a licensed structural engineer to examine the building and decide what must be done to repair the damage.

“We need to determine if it’s salvageable or not and to see what needs to be done,” Bunch said. “We don’t know what the future damage will be.”

There is a possibility the building may need to be demolished, and Bunch has previously said that such a demolition could cost as much as $2 million.

In his amended complaint against MWC, Bunch makes a formal claim for damages, asserting that MWC’s “tortious conduct has damaged [the Stallings] building.” The complaint goes on to argue that the Stallings family is entitled to recover compensatory damages from the construction company. At no point does the complaint discuss how much these damages might amount to, as that will largely be contingent upon the findings of the engineer in the coming weeks.

Once the engineer returns with findings on the structural integrity of the building, the Stallings family could seek to recover damages from MWC, the city of Carrollton and possibly Carroll County.

Bunch has previously sent letters to both the city and the county demanding compensation for what he alleges to be damages caused both by the construction of the neighboring parking garage and the demolition of the Courtyard Square building that stood directly adjacent to the Stallings building. Neither the city nor the county has offered the family any money for potential damages, although the family has already lost a significant amount of money to this point because of the problems to the building, Bunch said. The most recent tenant, Southwire, moved out a couple of weeks ago, Bunch said, the direct result of the instability of the structure.

In addition to the problems allegedly caused by the dirt against the wall of the Stallings building, Bunch also contends that the building was damaged in the demolition of the Courtyard Square building earlier this year.

JAN Trucking of Carrollton last May demolished the Courtyard Square building on Newnan Street in Carrollton to make way for the construction of a new parking garage. Since the demolition, one wall of the Stallings building has suffered structural damage as a result of being exposed to rain, wind and other elements.

No action has been brought against JAN Trucking, and no time frame has yet been set as to when MWC must remove the dirt from the property next to the Stallings building. Simpson will likely sign an order in the next day or two specifying when the dirt must be removed.