Lawyers expect settlement soon in dispute over Montgomery Building demolition
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Two lawyers said Thursday a settlement is imminent in the dispute over the bill arising from the partial demolition of the downtown Washington apartment building that caved in last summer.
City solicitor Steven Toprani said he expects a resolution soon to the legal wrangling set in motion July 12, when the three-story Montgomery Building at 15 N. Main St. buckled and trapped tenant Megan Angelone, 37, under a refrigerator and two floors for more than nine hours.
In October, the city asked a judge to place a roughly $1.16 million lien on the property – which is listed in court records as belonging to Washington landlord Mark Russo and his sister, Melissa, who lives in Colorado – to cover work Allegheny Crane Rental Inc. performed on the building and other costs arising from the collapse, such as first responders’ overtime. The Russos’ attorneys have disputed the figure.
The contractor is still awaiting payment for the work it finished almost half a year ago.
“What we’re looking to do is resolve the matter with the insurance that the Russos had on the property,” Toprani said Thursday.
He added “we hope to come to an understanding very soon,” but he could not provide an exact timeline.
Elizabeth Tarasi, who represents the Russos, said she’s been holding an insurance payment in trust for her clients. She refused to disclose the exact payment they’ll make under the proposed settlement, but called it a “considerable amount.”
“We’ll get it taken care of, and hopefully everyone will be satisfied and can move on,” she said.
Tarasi said she also expects the agreement to involve someone other than her clients taking over the North Main Street property, plus the resolution of a series of citations the city filed over alleged code violations there.
Toprani wouldn’t talk about specific terms before the settlement is final.
“The city is looking for a long-term, viable plan to return that property to economic use,” he said.
This week, Allegheny Crane took a procedural step in Washington County Court to preserve its right to seek a lien against the property over the money it says it has yet to receive for the stabilization and debris-clearing work it finished Sept. 19.
Attorneys for the Robinson, Allegheny County, contractor filed a claim Wednesday seeking a $1.65 million mechanic’s lien against the property. An invoice dated Feb. 22 cited what appeared to be previous work invoices totaling more than $900,000, plus other items for “10% profit,” “10% overhead,” “compounding finance charges” and “25% attorney fees.”
Under state law, a contractor has six months from the completion of work to bring that type of claim.
“Our client has not been paid,” said David Fuchs, one of the company’s lawyers. “We’ve been trying to work with the city and the Russos to find a solution. … We’re still engaged in that process.”
Asked whether he expected to recover the full amount requested for the lien, Fuchs said the situation “is more complicated. I don’t want to get into the settlement discussions, other than they’re just ongoing.
“There’s a lot of moving parts to this project and this process. It’s a work in progress right now,” he added.