HARRISBURG, Pa. —
Four-year-old civil litigation surrounding remediation of a wall collapsing onto a Harrisburg tire shop has hit another roadblock.
A 107-year-old wall collapsed onto Howard Tire and Auto on May 5, 2016, forcing it to close. Its owner, Howard Henry, said the event also collapsed his life.
“I built every single step of this,” Henry said. “I did that.”
Now, weeds and litter fill the parking lot, and the business remains closed.
Meanwhile the civil case drags on to decide how to repair the wall and who will pay for it.
“I’m being victimized one more time because they won't clean up that mess that fell on me,” Henry said. “I have nothing in any part of this.”
The remediation efforts have stalled since early spring due to coronavirus. A global status conference to move the case forward, which included all parties involved in the litigation, was scheduled for March 18. It turned out to be the same week courts shut down.
Last week, the case hit another setback: the judge in charge of it was removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Judge Lawrence Clark, Jr. was one of two Dauphin County senior judges forced into early retirement after it was discovered they both applied for federal CARES Act unemployment compensation during COVID-19, despite the fact that both were still collecting pensions.
A senior judge is a retired judge who adjudicates cases on an ad-hoc basis, much like a substitute teacher who only comes in when needed. Senior judges received state-funded pensions for life, complete with benefits. They also receive additional payment for each case they work as a senior judge.
“The judge draws $600 a week while I spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to bring this to an end,” Henry said. “Really?”
Henry said he has spent more than $700,000 maintaining his property and in legal fees since the collapse.
The case must now be reassigned to a new judge.
The transfer should not delay court proceedings, according to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC).
However attorneys for the wall’s owner, McFarland Apartments, pointed out the new judge will need time to acquaint themself with the case and go over years of legal documents.
“There's nothing the defendants can do about it. We want to see this case resolved as much as anybody else,” said Adam Klein, an attorney with Smigel, Anderson and Sacks, which is representing McFarland LLP.
The McFarland Apartments building has been condemned by the city of Harrisburg since 2016 and is still in danger of collapse, according to a motion filed by Henry’s attorneys.
Further complicating matters, McFarland LLP is in the process of suing its insurance company to pay for remediation.
“If you’re not following it closely it may seem like a simple matter of a wall falling and someone has to pay for it,” Klein said. “But in this matter there are number of defendants going back in some cases, decades, and these things need to get resolved.”
Henry’s attorneys filed a motion June 26 asking that a jury trial be scheduled by the end of the year. They are seeking immediate remediation of the wall and building, as well as $60 million in damages.