Tallmadge, Summit County drop civil suit against former Midway Plaza owners
The new owners of Midway Plaza have improved the site enough to prompt the city of Tallmadge and Summit County to drop a civil suit against the previous owners over its deteriorated state.
The complaint against Midway Plaza Realty (MPR), Namdar Realty Group and Mason Asset Management was filed in Summit County Common Pleas Court in 2022, citing zoning violations and building conditions.
The case was dropped Thursday, two years to the day it was filed.
In a joint statement Thursday, Tallmadge and the county said they were dropping the suit after a partial condemnation order was lifted by the Summit County Building Department.
"While limited minor maintenance violations remain, the city of Tallmadge is committed to working with the new owner of this important property to complete necessary corrective action,” the statement said.
Giuseppe Holdings in Alden, New York, currently owns the plaza at 1389 Brittain Road.
Akron attorney Edward Gilbert, who represents the previous owners, declined to comment on the dismissal.
A look back: What's going on at Midway Plaza? Five things to know about the Tallmadge shopping center
Plaza fell into 'a state of complete and utter disrepair'
Midway Plaza was constructed in 1955 as a retail plaza on 18 acres at Brittain Road and Tallmadge Avenue. MPR purchased the property in 2016. Under MPR ownership, the complaint claimed, the plaza was allowed "to fall into a state of complete and utter disrepair."
On Nov. 11, 2020, Tallmadge officials inspected the property and found numerous violations of the city’s codes and the Ohio Fire Code. The complaint said parts of the structure were dilapidated, the interior ceilings in many of the units had collapsed; there were no utilities, portions of the roof had collapsed, gutters were either hanging off or missing, windows were either missing or broken and walls had collapsed. Inspectors noted many of the units were infested with mold and there were no utilities.
Civil suit filed by Save A Lot owners still pending
One of the plaza's occupants is continuing its own lawsuit against the defendants.
The civil suit filed by Sunshine Stores, which operates the Save A Lot store at Midway and other area locations, is still pending in Summit County.
A complaint filed by Sunshine Stores in September 2022 says the plaza was auctioned by RIM Marketplace to Giuseppe Holdings the previous month for $650,000 — "substantially less than the tax appraised value for the plaza" of about $1.5 million.
"These badges of fraud create an actual inference that MPR is acting to defraud its creditors and is converting its only assets into cash for the purpose of avoiding and/or delaying creditor claims by placing it assets beyond the reach of its creditors," Sunshine Stores asserted in the complaint.
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Tallmadge, Summit County withdraw lawsuit over Midway Plaza conditions
