SCRANTON – A Colorado man contends that a piece of mixed-use property he owns in Pittston was illegally demolished without the responsible authorities serving him notice.
Douglas Bruce of El Paso County, Colo., filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania on May 1 versus the City of Pittston.
“Plaintiff is the owner of a parcel of real estate located in the City of Pittston with the street addresses of 385 North Main Street, Pittston, Pennsylvania 18640. There was a building on the property, prior to defendant’s illegal demolition of the building as described herein. The ground floor of the building had operated as a bar, and there was an apartment upstairs,” the suit says.
“Without proper notice to plaintiff, defendant demolished the building on the property, thereby destroying any reasonable economic value or use for the property. Plaintiff did not receive any proper notice from defendant regarding any maintenance issues or other possible basis for the demolition, and/or proper notice of the issuance of fines or orders in connection with the same.”
The suit adds that the demolition of a building due to unknown and alleged ordinance violations “constitutes an excessive fine under the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.”
“Furthermore, plaintiff never received any notice in advance of the demolition of the building on the property and he therefore did not have the ability to contest the same. By demolishing the building without notice and due process, defendant deprived plaintiff of his property in violation of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and denied him his procedural due process rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as well as his substantive due process rights also guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution,” the suit states.
“By defendant’s destruction of the building, plaintiff has been damaged in the form of future income value as well as the value of building and property, in an amount no less than $500,000. The defendant did not serve plaintiff with a search warrant, photos, or statement of particulars before prematurely demolishing the building, in violation of due process.”
For counts of property deprivation and violating the plaintiff’s procedural due process rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, violation of substantive due process and violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, the plaintiff is seeking the following relief:
• On his first, second, third, and fourth causes of action, for damages, including actual, punitive, compensatory, treble, and special damages in an amount to be proven at trial but not less than $500,000, plus attorney fees, court costs, and costs of litigation;
• On all causes of action, for actual, compensatory, statutory, punitive, exemplary, treble, or other damages of any kind or type to which he is entitled; for an award of attorney fees, court costs, and costs of litigation; for a declaratory judgment or order declaring that defendant’s conduct as described above violated the constitutional rights of plaintiff as protected by the United States Constitution; for a declaratory judgment or order declaring the relevant ordinances, policies, and procedures facially unconstitutional and unconstitutionally applied to plaintiff, declaring any actions taken by defendant void ab initio; and for any other and further relief to which plaintiff may be entitled under law or equity and which the Court may find just and appropriate under the circumstances; and
• An award of attorney fees and court costs under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 and Section 1988;
• Immediate cancellation of all warrants for arrests and fines, so the plaintiff may appear and defend himself, his property, and his rights.
The plaintiff is represented by Danielle M. Mulcahey of Wright Reihner & Mulcahey in Scranton, plus Aaron C. Garrett of the Nonprofit Legal Services of Utah, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The defendant is represented by Jennifer Menichini and Joseph J. Joyce III of Joyce Carmody & Moran, in Pittston.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania case 3:23-cv-00711
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com