Owner of razed apartments sues city for calling in a wrecking ball
Business man says he wasn't allowed to update complex
By Jamie Stockwell
A lawsuit filed in federal court last week accused the city of Houston and Cherry Demolition of illegally destroying 41 apartment buildings.

The buildings at 8801 Winkler were part of an apartment complex owned by Houston businessman Van Ngoc Pham, who is seeking an unspecified amount of damages from the city. Pham planned to restore the complex, which he purchased for $1.9 million, into condominiums to be used as affordable housing for the Vietnamese community in southeast Houston. It included 51 buildings, six utility buildings and one mail room.

According to the plaintiff's complaint, the demolition performed by Cherry Demolition was the last step in a series of barriers set up by the city to prevent Pham from renovating the apartment complex. The barriers include a refusal from the city to issue temporary electrical permits required to begin construction after a fire damaged several of the apartment buildings.

"I haven't seen the file for the case, but it's possible that it exists because we do use Cherry Demolition to knock down buildings," Paul Bibler, senior assistant city attorney, said Friday.

Bibler said buildings are demolished when they present a clear danger to the community and said many factors are considered when deciding if a building is dangerous, including faulty wiring and leaking roofs.

"For a building to be knocked down it has to be in pretty bad shape," he said.

Bibler said that before a building is demolished, the case must be heard by the Building Standards Commission. The commission ultimately decides whether a building needs to be destroyed.

Jack Henry, attorney for Cherry Demolition, said he was unaware of the lawsuit but added that Cherry Demolition did only what it was asked to do.

"The buildings were torn down at the request of he city," he said. "The city said the buildings were dangerous and needed to be torn down."

John Tavormina, attorney for the Houston law firm Helm, Pletcher, Bowen & Saunders, said he represents Pham's company, John Corp.

"John Corporation paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to renovate the complex and then it was demolished, " Tavormina said. "I just really want to get to the bottom of this and find out what happened because to me it just looks like a bunch of bureaucratic maneuvering."

Tavormina said two of the demolished buildings had already received full occupancy permits and were ready to be sold.

The lawsuit also accuses the city and Cherry Demolition of unreasonable taking of property as well as breach of contract and fraud.

Henry said the same lawsuit was dismissed in state court recently.

"To me this sounds like a superfluous lawsuit," he said. "But I’ll have to check it out and find out whether the allegations are the same or if the arguments being made are entirely different."