YOUNGSTOWN — The city, which settled two lawsuits last month for questionable demolitions, faces two additional lawsuits from property owners — one trying to stop the emergency demolition of his home and the other seeking damages for a 2022 demolition.

Robert Kranitz of Youngstown filed a request for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunctive relief against the city in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

In the court filing, Jason Rebraca, Kranitz’s attorney, wrote Kranitz found out from a third party that fire Chief Barry Finley ordered his house at 550 Palmer Ave. to be taken down by an emergency demolition order, alleging it is structurally unsound.

In the filing, Rebraca wrote Kranitz disputes the house needs to be demolished and he is renovating it. The filing also states Kranitz was never notified by the city of Finley’s declaration and he only found out about it from a letter sent to his former attorney. That letter, the filing states, did not include information about what Finley finds dangerous about the house.

Kranitz disagrees with the city’s assessment that “the home is structurally unsound and a threat to public safety,” Rebraca wrote.

The case was filed Friday and a summons from the court was mailed Wednesday to the city.

The other case, also in common pleas court, was filed by an attorney for Ernest Hudson of Lake Milton, who is scheduled to have a June 4 hearing on the city’s request for summary judgment and to have the matter dismissed.

In Hudson’s lawsuit, filed by his attorney Rhys Cartwright-Jones, the contention is the city — using Finley’s emergency demolition declaration — took down his property at 323 W. LaClede Ave. on April 18, 2022, without providing prior notice.

The city actually transferred the property to Hudson on Dec. 13, 2019, with the intent he would enhance it.

In the lawsuit, Cartwright-Jones wrote Hudson planned to turn the property into a music studio / center and “incurred significant losses due to the demolition, including costs for recording equipment, musical instruments, building materials, labor and other expenses, amounting to over $184,000.”

Hudson “seeks relief for these damages” and subsequent damages, “underscoring the violation of due process rights and the city’s failure to provide notice or an opportunity to be heard before demolishing the property,” the lawsuit states.

The city contends it is entitled to immunity for taking down the property, and Hudson owes it $7,961 for the demolition costs.

The city asked for the case to be dismissed because “there are no genuine disputes of material facts that the property was in a condition which required the immediate demolition,” which happened three days after Finley’s declaration, wrote James Vivo, the city’s first assistant law director.

Vivo also wrote the city’s ordinances on emergency demolition are constitutional and the city didn’t take or destroy Hudson’s property without due process.

PREVIOUS SETTLEMENTS

The city settled two cases last month related to questionable demolitions.

In one case, the city agreed to give $80,000 and other financial considerations to the owners of the former Anthony’s on the River building at 15 Oak Hill Ave.

The other considerations are removing a $48,000 demolition assessment, $10,675 in interest on that assessment and paying any remaining delinquent tax balance on the property, which is estimated to be $10,000. The city’s insurance is covering $25,000 of the total settlement costs.

City council and the board of control approved the $80,000 payment last month. Council still needs to vote on removing the demolition assessment and the interest.

Two Bridges LLC, which owns the property, filed a federal lawsuit Nov. 13, 2020, in response to the city taking down the building on Aug. 22, 2020, through an emergency demolition declaration without notifying the owners.

A federal judge denied a city motion that it had “statutory immunity” from due process.

The city also settled a separate case last month filed by Jamie Cottle after it demolished a home at 1522 Albert St. despite a court order to not knock it down.

The city resolved the matter by giving the homeless woman a home it owned at 3011 Idlewood Ave.

In December, the city paid $110,937 to Carl A. and Patrice Ross for the destruction of items taken out of a warehouse they own at 905 South Ave. on Nov. 25, 2020, as the city was preparing to demolish the structure.

The demolition was stopped by court order.

Have an interesting story? Contact David Skolnick by email at dskolnick@vindy.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @dskolnick.