COEUR d'ALENE - A lawsuit has been filed in Kootenai County court because of damage done to a tree that was to be a central part of a home being constructed.

GTS Interior Supply Inc., with headquarters in Kirkland, Wash., is being sued by property owners Kirk B. and Vanessa L. Robinson, according to court documents in 1st District Court.

The home is in Sundown Ridge Estates in Kootenai County, at 916 S. Orion Road.

GTS was hired to provide and deliver supplies for the new home construction, documents said.

The Robinsons had the home specifically designed to incorporate a 100-plus-year-old Douglas-fir tree into the design.

The "defendant was advised that all workers engaged in construction on the project house were to take great care around the subject tree, and to ensure the safety and preservation of the tree," the complaint, filed May 27, states.

GTS officials couldn't immediately be reached for comment Monday.

GTS, through its agents and employees, decided to haul supplies into the project house through a balcony immediately adjacent to the subject tree, the complaint said.

"In order to do this, GTS's agents and employees used a forklift and forcibly broke off the subject tree's branches, effectively destroying the irreplaceable tree around which Mr. Robinson painstakingly designed and built the project house," it said.

The Robinsons allege GTS's employees and agents "failed to exercise the standard of care that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised in a similar situation," it said.

The Robinsons are seeking damages at trial for decreased property value, restoration costs, loss of enjoyment, out of pocket expenses and legal fees. They are being represented by attorney Matthew Ries, of Spokane.