City Bulldozes Vacant House Into The Ground On Eve Of Owner's Suit To Halt Demolition

In Lorain, Ohio, The Chronicle Telegram reports:

• On the same day a lawsuit was being filed to prevent the city from tearing down a house it deemed dilapidated, a work crew was busy pulling it to the ground.
  
  “Even as we were filing suit, we learned, to our amazement, the city had demolished the property,” attorney Brent English said.
  
  The Cleveland lawyer is representing George Schneider, a Lorain man who owns numerous rental properties in the city and county, including the duplex that was at 500 W. 25th St. in Lorain.
  
  The unoccupied house was torn down as English said he was in the process of filing suit to halt the demolition by seeking a temporary restraining order against the city. English contends the house wasn’t slated to be torn down until later in the week as part of a weeklong demolition of housing declared nuisances to public health or safety.
  
  “They had a contractor there despite the fact the house was scheduled for (demolition) Thursday,” English said. “We don’t know what happened, but the house is gone. Now we’ll be amending the suit to seek damages for wrongful destruction of my client’s property.”
  
  English estimated he would seek damages in the $50,000 range for the value of the house.
  
  “It appears they fast-tracked this to tear it down,” English said. “The same city that tore it down issued a permit to fix it,’’ English said. “Now they can just pay for it.”

For more, see House demolished before appeal was heard, owner says.