CINCINNATI — After two fires broke out at Hammond North Condominiums in two years leaving the 19-story building damaged, residents filed a lawsuit to fight the condo association's methods for handling repairs, including forcing condo owners to vacate while construction happens.
The resident complaints scrutinize the board's response to the fire claiming it has provided limited details to justify repair plans and information on how they'll be funded.
Since the lawsuits were filed in May, condo owners have maintained that they've been denied a voice in the process.
During a hearing in August, several of those condo owners appeared in court to testify before Judge Terry Nestor. An attorney for the owners told Nestor laws and bylaws explaining that the board should not have moved forward with any work without first putting the plans up for a vote.
"Condominium ownership is a cooperative living arrangement. And that cooperative living arrangement only works when everyone plays by the rules," she said.
Residents claimed the condo association couldn't force them from their homes, nor could they begin working on damaged units without the owner's permission.
The board's attorney pushed back on that claim, countering that the board did hold town halls with owners over several months. He said in this circumstance, the board has the authority to make decisions without consulting residents.
Ultimately, Nestor ruled against the condo owners, finding instead that the condo association's plan for repairing and reconstructing the fire-damaged building was reasonable, and that residents "must yield to the association's duty to fix the building," according to Nestor's ruling, filed on September 13.
Nestor ruled that condo owners at Hammond North must vacate their homes "for the purpose of construction" on or before October 15. If residents do not comply, they could be found in contempt of court.
The two fires that damaged Hammond North happened in 2022 and 2023.
In March 2022, a person died after falling from the 12th floor of the 19-floor high-rise during a fire that caused an estimated $350,000 in damages to the building. Just under one year later, in February 2023, nine people were hospitalized — including two firefighters — after a fire on the building's first floor.
After that fire, the Cincinnati Fire Department estimated the damages to the building were roughly $1 million.
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