First Lawsuits Filed Following Davenport, Iowa, Building Collapse
The first lawsuits have begun following the Davenport, Iowa, apartment collapse on May 28. Hours after the collapse, nine residents were rescued, and search efforts were subsequently called off as plans for demolition moved forward. Demolition plans were then scrapped after 52-year-old resident Lisa Brooks appeared in a sixth-story window calling for help. After search efforts were renewed, three missing male residents were found deceased under the rubble.
The building, which was originally constructed in 1906, was at one point the sight of the historic Davenport Hotel. After its conversion to an apartment complex, the building was plagued with resident complaints regarding safety, plumbing, and other issues.
Official records released by the city of Davenport highlight that the building had been the subject of complaints since first being purchased by Andrew Wold in 2021. One city inspector noted numerous severe violations at the property. Resident complaints also detailed issues with lack of hot water, sewage issues, and overflowing garbage in dumpster areas and stairwells. Reports indicate that in at least one instance, the building owner handed out space heaters to residents who were having heating issues.
The recent lawsuit expounds on the complaints first brought forward by residents. The running theme of all lawsuits is the lack of regard for resident safety and the lack of effort or willingness to repair the issues.
Quanishia “Peach” Berry and her wife, Lexus, were home during the time of the collapse. Lexus was able to safely evacuate the building, but Peach was left stuck under the rubble until rescuers were able to save her after amputating one of her legs.
During a news conference, Lexus Berry shared, “My wife is a very strong person, and I am, too,” adding, “All that we want is accountability to be able to have closure and to know why this happened, and to be able to move forward with our lives.”
Another lawsuit filed in Scott County names Mildred Harrington and Rijeh Garnett as plaintiffs. Harrington was a resident of the collapsed apartment complex and Garnett was a resident of a nearby apartment complex. Their class action lawsuit names Davenport Hotel LLC as a defendant and accuses them of failing to protect them and other residents because they did not maintain the building in a reasonably safe condition and did not warn residents and nearby residents of any structural issues.
Another lawsuit filed by Danya Feuerbach goes after several defendants including the building owner Andrew Wold; his contracting company, Alliance Contracting, LLC; his investment company, Andrew Wold Investments as well as other parties including Select Structural Engineering; Bi-State Masonry, INC., a contractor; the City of Davenport; and the building’s former owner, Waukee Investments I, LLC, along with others.
Feuerbach’s lawsuit explains, “The defendants… including Andrew Wold and his companies, as well as The City of Davenport, were repeatedly warned of the severe and deteriorating condition of the west exterior wall that ultimately failed.” Her lawsuit continues, “Had even a marginally competent inspection or due diligence been performed by the Wold defendants at the time of purchase, the dangerous condition of the west exterior wall would have been noticed and the need for immediate action realized.”
After the collapse, Wold released a few statements regarding the building's safety history record and his overall response to structural concerns from residents. After the lawsuits were announced, Wold released another statement through his spokesperson Harlan Loeb that explained, “We are devastated by the building’s collapse and our hearts go out to everyone involved, people displaced, people injured and of course the people that lost their lives.”
Wold and his companies are accused of painting over bricks to conceal evidence of a weakened structure instead of taking necessary action to fix the structural issues. Along with Wold, named contractors and engineers that worked on the building are being accused of not alerting tenants about the safety and structural issues that existed.
Both the Berrys’ and Feuerbach’s lawsuits are seeking unspecified damages, though punitive damages are being sought under Feurbach’s lawsuit along with compensatory damages as well.
