News

August 24, 2010

Hotel suit against the city will go to court

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter   |   Steve Mocarsky on Facebook   |   @TLSteveMocarsky on Twitter

WILKES-BARRE – It appears that a lawsuit a hotel owner filed against the city of Wilkes-Barre and its code enforcement officer can head to trial.

The owner of the now-vacant Red Carpet Inn, located at 400 Kidder St., filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania in July 2008 claiming that the city and Code Enforcement Officer Frank Kratz violated his civil rights by effectively forcing the hotel out of business.

William Abraham, attorney for Kiran Patel, had said pre-trial testimony of several city officials proves they did not properly follow procedures set in city ordinances when they shut down the facility in 2006. Based on that, he asked a judge to rule on the merits of the case, without it going to trial, and award Patel economic and punitive damages – a legal procedure known as summary judgment.

Kratz initially closed a two-story hotel building and evicted long-term residents after it was damaged by fire on April 2, 2006. Patel corrected code violations and that section later reopened.

On July 24, 2006, the Community Action Team closed down the hotel’s efficiency apartments after reports were received that the buildings were filthy and infested with cockroaches.

The bulk of Patel’s allegations relate to the July 24 closure. He maintains he was never notified in writing of the alleged deficiencies, even though the city’s nuisance ordinance requires written notification be given within 10 days. Abraham also contends Patel repeatedly wrote to Kratz to ask him what he needed to do to reopen the apartments, but Kratz never responded.

Donald Brobst, attorney for the city, acknowledged in court papers that Patel was not initially given written notice when the apartments were shut down. But he said a motel manager was verbally notified of problems at the time the inspection was made.

The city has previously stated it closed down the apartments without notifying Patel in advance because they were in deplorable condition, creating an immediate safety hazard.

The court, last week, granted summary judgment in favor of Kratz and the city on three claims and denied motions for summary judgment on three others.

Judge Thomas M. Blewitt agreed with the city that Patel had not shown evidence that his right to due process had been violated, nor that there was an illegal search and seizure of his property in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights.

Blewitt ruled that Patel failed to show the city had any policy or custom in place that caused his alleged constitutional violations.

Blewitt also decided that neither side showed enough evidence for a summary judgment on a claim that Patel’s 14th Amendment rights to due process had been violated, so that claim can go to trial.

The judge also ruled that Kratz was not entitled to qualified immunity in the case, so he will remain as a defendant.

 

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