Photo: Michael Kovac/Getty; Bill Pugliano/Getty
The mayor of Detroit has spoken out about a lawsuitNicole Curtisfiled against the city’s Land Bank overwho rightfully owns a dilapidated homeshe says she legally purchased in 2017.
“It appears she paid somebody who didn’t own the house and paid them to buy it. But the Land Bank cannot legally give her the property,” Duggan said, adding, “She can have 100 critical stories, the Land Bank is not going to break the law. They can’t turn the property over without getting values.”
Nicole Curtis.Melanie Szafraniec
The City of Detroit Land Bank (DLBA) — a public organization whose “mission is to return the city’s blighted and vacant properties to productive use,” according to their website — says they rightfully own the home and are attempting to sell it.
As of August, the organization has “obtained Title” for the property, Curtis’s suit states, andreal-estate listings showthat the 2,641-square-foot, 5-bedroom house was put up for sale at the beginning of March for $40,000.
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Curtis responded to Duggan’s statement via an Instagram post on Tuesday, slamming the mayor for speaking to the press about the dispute and claiming he refused a meeting with her about it.
She shared an update on her Instagram Story on Wednesday saying that Duggan has since agreed to meet with her about the issue on Thursday.
Nicole Curtis' Instagram Story.Nicole Curtis/Instagram
According to the lawsuitCurtis filed in March, her company has spent “approximately $60,000 including a significant amount of time and labor costs on the property” to date, including the purchase price. Other costs involved include “renovating, safeguarding, insuring, paying taxes and maintaining” the property, the filing states.
She repeated that claim in her Instagram post on Tuesday, writing she “pushed [the DLBA] for resolution in 2018” regarding the property and “asked for resolve as we were heavily investing time & money into the property,” but said that she was “blown off and ignored” at the time.
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A representative for the DLBA told PEOPLE last week that they refute this claim.
“Ms. Curtis has never been the legal owner of 451 E Grand, however she was offered multiple opportunities to sign an agreement with the DLBA to rehab the house, which she refused,” they said in a statement. “We’ve already won two separate legal actions about this property. The property is currently for sale and Ms. Curtis is welcome to make an offer and follow the same process to which we hold all of our buyers.
source: people.com
