ASHEVILLE — A federal judge says a jury will decide who is at fault for signs directing visitors to popular sites around Asheville that started peeling shortly after being installed nearly three years ago.

U.S. Judge Martin Reidinger ruled the trial pitting the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority against the company that made the faulty signs should begin next month.

The tourism promotion group hired L&H Signs Inc. for the $1.5 million project that turned embarrassing when the surface images quickly began peeling from the metal. The lawsuit alleges the Pennsylvania-based sign company failed to properly fabricate and install the signs.

L&H Signs argues it advised the Asheville tourism authority of defects in project specifications and offered a solution that the group rejected.