CINCINNATI — Several residents of a College Hill condominium building are suing the building and condo board over their response to a large building fire in 2023, pitting neighbor against neighbor.
The residents allege several condo owners have been forced out of their homes for over a year, while others are being pushed out this spring. Meanwhile, they argue the condo board at the Hammond North building has provided limited details to justify repair plans and information on how they’ll be funded.
The fire sent nine people to the hospital and damaged several units on lower floors. According to a press release, more than 100 firefighters responded to the scene.
“We have an option to move 1,000 miles away where I won't be able to see family, friends, have any support,” said Carolyn Push, wife of one of the plaintiffs.
“My insurance will not pay for me to move or to pay for a second place,” said Joan Berry, a plaintiff.
Plaintiffs have focused on plans to install a building-wide sprinkler system. The board is moving forward on the project after two fires in 11 months. One of those fires left one person dead.
“There was devastating injuries during these fires,” said Vanessa Denier, vice president of the condominium board, who is also named as a defendant. “We have inadequate life safety systems throughout the entire building.”
Members of the board have argued the system is necessary for remediation projects moving forward.
The owners suing the board say residents have not had a voice in the process. They’re concerned the board doesn’t have a clear idea yet of where funds will come from to pay for it.
“They're being given a work authorization form, which is a contract that they're being required to sign that says, ‘You give us authority do whatever we need to do in your condominium,’” said the plaintiffs’ attorney W. Kelly Lundrigan.
Defendants have disputed this, arguing that residents have been involved in the process from the beginning.
“We immediately began to communicate through town hall-style open meetings with owners regularly every week,” Denier said.
Joan Pirone, treasurer of the building board and a defendant in the case, said the lawsuit will simply delay necessary work.
“They don't want to move out,” she said. “I can't blame them. I wouldn't want to move out either. But it's the only way we can get this building back to how it has to be.”
Plaintiffs asked a Hamilton County judge to temporarily pause the project from moving forward while the lawsuit continues. The judge is considering this but has not yet reached a decision.
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