The owner of a partially collapsed Davenport, Iowa, building pleaded guilty to a civil infraction, documents show
The owner of a building that partially collapsed in Davenport, Iowa, last month has pleaded guilty to a civil infraction for not maintaining safe conditions, court documents filed Monday show.
Andrew Wold, who owns the six-story building that collapsed on May 28, killing three people, was ordered to pay a $300 fine and $95 in court costs, according to the filing in Scott County Court.
Wold’s attorneys confirmed he had “admitted to liability for a municipal infraction in civil court,” in a statement Monday, adding their client felt the fine was “appropriate given the profoundly tragic collapse of the building” last month.
But the “municipal infraction does not constitute an admission of negligence,” they said.
Residents Branden Colvin, Ryan Hitchcock and Daniel Prien were killed in the Memorial Day weekend collapse, which destroyed dozens of apartment units.
In addition to the fine, Wold was ordered Monday to “refrain from any violations of Davenport, Iowa (building) code provisions,” CNN affiliate KWQC reported. Wold did not appear during a hearing Monday, the station said, and entered his plea through his attorney.
Wold is also among several parties facing at least two lawsuits from building residents. Both lawsuits allege negligence on the part of the owner and the city of Davenport, among others.
One, filed by Quanishia “Peach” White Berry, and her wife, Lexus Berry, seeks to hold the defendants accountable for what it describes as “permanent and catastrophic personal injures,” namely the amputation of Peach’s leg by emergency responders extricating her from the debris. The lawsuit claims the building was not up to code and alleges complaints were known for some time, and it seeks an unspecified amount of money.
Another lawsuit similarly claims Wold and the city knew about the dangers but failed to warn residents.
The city of Davenport previously declined to comment on pending litigation, citing the advice of its attorneys.
In their statement Monday, Wold’s attorneys said he had “at all times acted with urgency and in good faith based on the information available to him.”
“He invested substantial time and resources into improving the building,” the attorneys said, “consistently worked with officials on repairs, and properly relied on the findings of professionals that the building was safe for occupancy.”
“Mr. Wold’s thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims of this disaster. He will continue to work with officials to afford relief to these victims and the community at large.”
CNN’s Dakin Andone, Omar Jimenez and Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.
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