File photo. 

The owners of the Russian submarine named Scorpion are suing the company they leased the submarine to, alleging the entities are responsible for the Soviet Foxtrot-class vessel for falling into disrepair.

According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court by Palm Springs-based Newco Pty Ltd., poor upkeep by defendants Save the Queen LLC, Garrison Investment Group and Urban Commons resulted in raccoon infestation, rust spots on the outer hull and a lack of fresh paint on the entire deck on numerous occasions.

The suit seeks $10 million in damages and seeks a court order preventing the transfer of the submarine from its present location. It claims Urban Commons bought control of the master lease for The Queen Mary from Garrison Investments and wants the submarine moved so the company can “pursue its future development of its Queen Mary leasehold.”

“Urban Commons is currently reviewing the lawsuit and allegations concerning the Scorpion,” said Urban Commons in reaction to the suit. “While we do not have any involvement with the vessel, we are looking into the matter.”

The Scorpion has been docked at the Port of Long Beach since 1998, and since that time, its hull has been exposed to salt water, pollution, dust and grime, according to the lawsuit. Newco leased its rights to the Scorpion in 2011 to Save the Queen for its use as a tourist attraction, resulting in visitors to the sub and gift shop generating more than $500,000 annually in revenue, according to the lawsuit.

The suit emphasizes this is different than the “perennial money-losing Queen Mary.”

Save the Queen hired Garrison Investments to manage, maintain and repair, before turning such responsibilities over to Evolution Hospitality, LLC, which maintains the duties to date. Because Evolution Hospitality had no experience maintaining such a vessel, the sub experienced neglects in repair that ultimately led to its current listing to the left, according to the suit.

The repairs to the vessel will cost about $10 million, the suit states.

Newco spent $1 million to move the Scorpion from Australia to Long Beach, according to the complaint.

City News Service contributed to this report.