May 18, 2018 2 min read

A tenant of the downtown Washington apartment building that caved in last year is accusing his former landlords of putting him in danger by failing to address unsafe conditions at the property.

In a premises-liability lawsuit filed Friday in Washington County court, Nathan Engott, 38, alleges Washington landlord Mark Russo and his sister, Melissa, of Colorado, were aware of the deteriorated condition of the 15 N. Main St. building but failed to make needed repairs to the property.

Engott now lives in Uniontown. Before the collapse, he’d entered into an “oral agreement” to rent an apartment at 15 N. Main and was living there with Megan Angelone, who is described in the lawsuit as his companion.

Both of them were inside that morning. Engott was struck by falling debris but managed to get out.

Angelone was trapped under a refrigerator and rubble for nine hours before rescuers freed her. She is not a party to Engott’s suit.

Problems with the building the Russos allegedly knew about, according to the suit, included cracks that had formed in the walls and ceilings, bricks that had fallen off the rear of the building and the fact that “in prior years, foundation jacks had been used to temporarily prop up the failing building foundation/structure.”

The Russos “were further aware of the hazardous and unsafe condition of the building as the defendant, Mark Russo, had inspected the property and attempted to cover the cracks in an effort to hide and disguise the structural deficiencies,” wrote Engott’s lawyer, Gerald Hutton, in the civil complaint.

The city had previously cited the property owners over a cracked wall.

Hutton, who works for the firm Edgar Snyder & Associates, wrote Engott had to be flown to the intensive care unit at UPMC-Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh.

Engott’s complaint said he suffered contusions on his left thoracic wall and right hip, abrasions on his neck, chest, back and arms, and severe pain in a number of places on his body, among other injuries. His attorney further alleged “some or all” of Engott’s injuries could be permanent and may force him to continue to expend money on medical bills.

The lawsuit seeks a judgment of more than $50,000, plus punitive and delay damages and court costs.