YOUNGSTOWN — With Youngstown preparing to demolish two adjacent houses on Ridgelawn Avenue it condemned after finding about 50 cats there, the owner of the properties is asking a judge to order the city to stop plans to take them down.

Elaine Hoskins, who owns 1838 and 1842 Ridgelawn Ave., filed a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction request Tuesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court.

Hoskins filed two similar requests with the court on March 29. In those cases, Judge Anthony D’Apolito recused himself and his magistrate, William Scott Fowler, on May 1 “due to a potential conflict of interest,” and asked the cases be reassigned to another judge.

Based on online court documents, the latest court filing by Hoskins was assigned to D’Apolito’s court.

In the latest filing, Alden Chevlen, Hoskins’ attorney, said the case was filed because the court “has taken no action” on the two other cases “with the next scheduled event being a status hearing on July 2, more than 90 days after the filing of the complaints.”

Also, Chevlen wrote in the latest complaint that Jason Small, a city senior assistant law director, sent him a letter saying the houses are being demolished.

The city’s code enforcement and blight remediation department and Animal Charity of Ohio entered both properties March 15, removing about 50 cats that Hoskins had rescued and was trying to place in permanent homes, Chevlen’s court filings state.

City officials said at the time that the houses were in deplorable condition, the smell inside was terrible and they needed to be demolished.

Also March 15, a city zoning officer placed orange warning signs on both properties prohibiting anyone from entering or occupying the properties, Chevlen’s filings state.

There was no notice of how much time Hoskins had to make repairs necessary for the properties to comply with city code and was told the houses would be demolished, but was not given a written notice, according to the filings.

In court filings in the two prior cases, Small asked D’Apolito to dismiss the complaints for various reasons, including Hoskins failing to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the city didn’t breach an alleged contract, the city acted in a reasonable manner and in good faith.

In the lawsuits, Chevlen wrote Hoskins has cleaned up the exterior of the properties, but is barred by the city from doing anything inside the houses.

Chevlen wrote, “Despite the ‘alleged’ condition of the houses, (Hoskins) has accepted an offer from a qualified buyer to purchase the houses and do whatever is necessary to make them habitable. Plaintiff has advised the city law department, the Mahoning County treasurer and the (city) code enforcement department of the offer to purchase. However, no response has been provided regarding the fate of the houses.”

Demolishing the houses will “cause a financial hardship which may lead to her bankruptcy as she has a mortgage outstanding on these houses due to recent repairs — roofs on both houses, new furnaces and hot water heaters — and will also be faced with paying the demolition costs,” Chevlen wrote.

He added, “Permitting (Hoskins) to sell the houses will avoid two unnecessary demolitions as the houses are structurally sound and will return two houses to the housing stock of Youngstown.”

Youngstown has been sued numerous times for questionable demolitions.

It settled two lawsuits in April.

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 – which city council will consider at its Wednesday meeting – as well as $10,675 in interest on that assessment and paying any 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.

The other case saw the city settle with Jamie Cottle after it demolished a home at 1522 Albert St. despite a court order to not knock it down.

The city resolved the case by giving Cottle a house it owned at 3011 Idlewood Ave.

The city also paid $110,937 in December 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 that structure.

The demolition was stopped by court order.

Other pending lawsuits against the city include one trying to stop the emergency demolition of a house at 550 Palmer Ave. and another contending the city demolished a property at 323 W. LaClede Ave. on April 18, 2022, by emergency without providing prior notice.

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