Trinidad homeowner sues city building inspector over roof work dispute
Eva Campbell sued Trinidad building inspector Jeremy Mascarenas for $7,500 over roof work, turning a private contract fight into a public trust test.
Eva Campbell has sued Trinidad building inspector Jeremy Mascarenas, seeking $7,500 in damages over roofing work she says was defective at her home. The complaint says Mascarenas breached their contract and left her with workmanship that did not meet expectations, a dispute that now reaches beyond one house and into questions about how residents view the city employee charged with watching over building standards.
The case matters in Trinidad because Mascarenas is listed in the city’s Development Services employee directory as building inspector. That role sits at the center of code compliance, inspections and public confidence in whether homes and other structures meet safety rules. When the same official who oversees construction oversight is named in a lawsuit over private roofing work, even a relatively small-dollar dispute can raise broader concerns about boundaries between public duty and outside work.
City records say the Trinidad Building Department’s mission is to promote building safety, preserve buildings through code enforcement and maintain an ethics-focused public relationship. The department also says its building guidelines follow the Colorado Chapter of the International Code Council and are based on the 2018 ICC code required by the city. Before starting a project, the city tells residents to verify that the contractor is licensed, advice that now takes on added weight as this lawsuit moves forward.
Trinidad’s municipal code says the city council, including the mayor, serves as the Board of Ethics. That makes the city’s ethics framework relevant if the Campbell case prompts questions about whether Mascarenas’ private roofing work fit within city rules on outside employment or conflicts of interest. No city response or hearing date was included in the available reporting, and the dispute is being described as a private contract case rather than a city project.
Colorado law also provides a broader backdrop for construction disputes. The state’s Construction Defect Action Reform Act sets procedures for bringing construction-defect claims and gives a construction professional a chance to remedy an alleged defect after notice. For Las Animas County residents, the lawsuit is a reminder that a disagreement over a roof can quickly become a test of accountability for someone whose public job depends on the trust of the people he serves.
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