Moline Dispatch and Rock Island Argus
The city of Davenport , its neighborhood services director and former chief building official filed the appeal April 30 , seeking to be dismissed from a consolidated lawsuit brought in the wake of the May 28 collapse of 324 Main St. in downtown Davenport . The suits have been partially consolidated to streamline various court processes as they progress.
The appeal follows the April 5 decision by District Court Judge Mark Lawson that rejected the city's legal effort to have city, former chief building official Trishna Pradhan and director of development and neighborhood services Rich Oswald removed from the lawsuits.
Lawson did approve dismissing former City Administrator Corri Spiegel as a defendant in the lawsuits.
The city argued in its motion to dismiss that neither the city nor its employees owed a duty to the tenants of 324 Main. The city's attorneys also argued the city and its employees are shielded from liability under "qualified immunity" because the law creating alleged liability was not clearly understood.
Lawson rejected both arguments, finding legal precedent in Iowa that could lead to a finding of liability against the city, Pradhan and Oswald.
The appeal, filed by Jason O'Rourke , of law firm Lane & Waterman, addresses only the decision denying qualified immunity."
O'Rouke is arguing the city, Pradhan and Oswald are immune from prosecution.
Qualified immunity has been a controversial legal topic in the state since Iowa introduced it in 2021. In many cases, qualified immunity was intended to make it more difficult for citizens who have been injured in some way to bring suit for monetary damages against cities, municipalities and local government or state agencies.
Lawson's decision
The partial collapse on May 28 killed three men, caused a woman to lose her leg and led dozens of residents to lose their homes and possessions.
In the 11 months since, families and residents brought a number of lawsuits against the city, several city officials, the building's owner and companies that did repair work to the building. The plaintiffs argued the city, Pradhan and Oswald failed to use reasonable care in conducting inspections and failed to post notices to vacate 324 Main St.
In rejecting the argument from the city, Lawson cited a 1979 case, Wilson vs. Nepstad.
In that case, following a fire in a Des Moines apartment building, tenants claimed that certain statutes, ordinances and building codes required the city of Des Moines to perform inspections and compel compliance, and that the city was negligent in performing or failing to perform those duties.
The Iowa Supreme Court concluded that the city did in fact owe a duty to the people injured in the fire because the city had inspected the apartment building the residents lived in.
Lawson wrote the city of Davenport , Pradhan and Oswald had a duty to conduct their inspections using a reasonable degree of care, including at 324 Main.
As an example for this case, Lawson noted that on March 9 , Pradhan ordered the stoppage of wall repairs because they didn't meet city design codes, showing she had the authority to halt construction and act in a supervisory role.
"These ordinances impose upon city employees the authority and duty to require corrections of the defects and to warn tenants in the event the building is ordered to be vacated," the judge wrote. "The plaintiffs allege that both Pradhan and Oswald failed to serve and post the required notices."
The city also argued in its motion to dismiss that neither the city nor its employees owed a duty to the tenants of 324 Main.
Lawson rejected the argument, writing, "With the exception of defendant Spiegel ... I can draw a reasonable inference from the allegations that each of the other city defendants is potentially liable ... Municipal employees owe a duty of care to tenants of an apartment building under certain circumstances."
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