International Towers Residents File Lawsuit Over Displacement

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – More than 50 residents of International Towers filed a lawsuit Thursday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, naming as defendants the owner of the Realty Tower, management company, gas company and a company that was working at the site of a May 28 gas explosion.

Through a spokeswoman, the building’s owner, YO Properties 47 LLC, and property management company, LY Management LLC, declined to comment. The East Ohio Gas Company, doing business as Enbridge Gas Ohio, also declined to comment through a spokeswoman. Other defendants – GreenHeart Companies and Dominion Energy LLC – couldn’t be reached to comment Friday morning.

“Our hearts and prayers remain with the injured, the families of those impacted, including the residents who have been displaced and especially the Drake family, who lost a loved one,” the Enbridge spokeswoman said in an email. “The National Transportation Safety Board has the lead in the Youngstown investigation, and we are committed to assisting as needed. It’s important that we let the investigators complete their work and share their findings once all the facts are known.”

International Towers is next to the Realty Tower, which is being demolished after the explosion that killed one man, Akil Drake, injured several others and displaced many.

A few weeks after the explosion, International Towers residents were evacuated because of concerns that Realty was in “imminent danger” of collapse, as indicated by engineers. Through the United Way of Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley and other service agencies, International Towers residents have been relocated to hotels and other facilities until it’s safe to return.

As a result of the evacuation, the named plaintiffs “were forced to precipitously leave their residences, and in the ensuing days, weeks and months after being displaced from their residences suffered personal effects such as confusion, mental anguish, undue stress, headaches, restlessness, sleeplessness and experienced significant fright, increased anxiety, panic attacks, worry, concern, emotional trauma and depression, and each has suffered other damages and difficulties, including but not limited to the significant disruption of their daily lives and activities and other inconveniences,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit, filed by Joseph T. Joseph of Beachwood, says all of the plaintiffs “are either elderly and/or have medical conditions and/or disabilities that require special needs and the apartment units in the International Towers Building are specifically designed to accommodate such needs.”

Many of them require daily medications, states the lawsuit, which also lists five “John Does” as defendants. 

“The independent living quarters provided at the International Towers Building allow for the named Plaintiffs and residents therein to maintain schedules, meet with case workers and generally enjoy social gatherings in a safe setting as well as the opportunity to cook meals for themselves, enjoy comfort and security of their own living spaces,” it states. 

The lawsuit doesn’t list a specific amount, but it’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs and attorney fees. It seeks class action status.

It could take more than a year for the NTSB to issue a final report from its investigation.

NTSB officials have said a crew engaged by GreenHeart Companies, which is a defendant in the lawsuit, was working in Realty’s basement area just before the explosion.

GreenHeart was contracted by the city of Youngstown to remove and relocate utilities in preparation for a city road improvement project. At the time of the accident, the scrap-removal crew was removing old utilities and other items from the basement area.

One of those crew members used a saw to cut an abandoned gas line that was believed to be dead, according to the investigation. The NTSB learned during its investigation that at the time of the accident, the inactive service line had been pressurized with natural gas to about 38 pounds per square inch, it said.

A June preliminary NTSB report said the agency’s investigation would focus on the pipeline operator’s procedures and practices for meter removal, record keeping and abandoning gas facilities and ownership of the inactive service line.

It will also focus on the companies associated with the building, the operational practices of GreenHeart Companies and its policies for work crews, the agency announced in the June preliminary report.

This is the second lawsuit filed related to the explosion. The first was filed by Drake’s family.

Realty Tower included 23 apartments on its upper floors and a Chase Bank branch on the first floor. Drake was a bank employee. The Stambaugh Building, across Federal Street from Realty, has been closed since the explosion, unable to reopen because of its proximity to the building.

Pictured at top: Demolition work continues Friday at the Realty Tower in downtown Youngstown. At right is the International Towers.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.