Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against an out-of-state landlord who allegedly allowed homes to fall into disrepair and were subsequently demolished by the city of Springfield.
The lawsuit was also jointly filed by the city of Springfield. Both are seeking to reimburse the city for costs associated with the demolished properties.
“The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has designated significant resources from the National Mortgage Settlement to combat the blight of abandoned houses across Ohio,” DeWine said.
He added, “However, not all abandoned properties are the result of the housing crisis or banking practices. There are occasionally egregious cases where negligent property owners have contributed to this problem and should be held liable for these demolition costs, instead of their neighbors and fellow taxpayers. This filing represents three such egregious cases.”
Despite being cited for code violation for several years, the landlord took no action to address the violations or demolish the properties, the AG explained.
