Sep 8, 2006 By Christine Haines 4 min read

Fayette County Judge Ralph C. Warman has overturned a lower court ruling that would have fined Ernest Liggett more than $30,000 for building code violations in Brownsville. On April 18, Magisterial District Judge Ronald Haggerty found Liggett guilty on 75 summary criminal citations for building code violations at 13 separate properties in the borough’s targeted code enforcement area, including the downtown section.

Liggett appealed that ruling June 16 and the case was assigned to Warman, who heard testimony in a non-jury trial Thursday.

Liggett’s attorney, Lee Grimm, argued that none of the buildings Liggett was cited for present public health or safety risks because none of them are in imminent danger of collapsing.

“His attempts to redevelop the area are ongoing and continual. It’s an economically depressed area. It is not an easy development to develop and he has never given up on that effort,” Grimm said.

Following the trial, Grimm said that Liggett needs the borough’s cooperation to develop the property.

“Obviously, Brownsville wants their property maintained, but look at development projects across the country,” said Liggett’s attorney, Lee Grimm. “Any developer is going to want to hold off on their interior repairs.”

Grimm said a building with a collapsed roof is not necessarily a safety hazard.

“That’s not necessarily presenting a danger to the public as long as they are not in danger of falling down. All that’s affected when a roof is gone is the interior of the property,” Grimm said. “From an historic perspective, these buildings have a lot of significance. Even the former mayor has said these are good, strong buildings.

“Basically, Brownsville is lucky to have the Liggetts right now. There is nothing there. We are trying to bring something there,” Grimm said.

Grimm said that in order to close a deal with someone interested in developing the property, Liggett needs the cooperation of borough officials instead of roadblocks through code enforcement against he downtown buildings.

“We know they are in bad condition. If they were fixed-up buildings, they wouldn’t need to be developed; they’d be thriving,” Grimm said.

Melinda Dellarose, the borough’s solicitor, said Thursday’s setback is not the end of the borough’s efforts to fix up the downtown area.

“It’s a code enforcement initiative in Brownsville Borough. It’s not against one person; and it’s going to continue,” Dellarose said.

Warman noted that the commonwealth’s case had a major defect: it failed to present the ordinance under which Liggett was cited, giving him no basis for judgment.

“The case can be addressed through the Uniform Property Maintenance Code. I’m willing to provide it,” said Assistant District Attorney Linda Cordaro.

“The record is closed at this point. We’re all done,” Warman said.

“Without the ordinance, I don’t know if notice was properly given. The borough must strictly comply with the notification requirements. If it does not, he cannot be convicted,” Warman said. “There are photographs here that Mr. Liggett has been attempting to keep these properties from being a hazard. They may be boarded up; they may not look very good. Others have broken windows and broken windows can be a hazard to anyone walking by. As far as the garbage, we think that’s disgraceful. You should never let your property get to that state,” Warman said.

Warman said the fact that some of the properties have been vandalized only would be a defense if the vandalism had occurred after the violations at the properties already had been repaired, and even then, the property owner has an obligation to make the repairs or be cited again.

“If the vandalism leaves a property in a condition that is a hazard, it’s the owner’s responsibility to correct that problem. That’s why people carry insurance,” Warman said.

Still, Warman said, the commonwealth failed to prove its case beyond a shadow of a doubt and so he found Liggett not guilty and discharged the case.

“Which does not mean they can’t start all over again, which I’m sure they will, so you better get started in getting some of this fixed up, Mr. Liggett,” Warman said in concluding the case.