Lauren Ariel.Photo: Lauren Ariel
After a three-yeardispute over who rightfully owns a dilapidated Detroit home, Nicole Curtis has won her recent lawsuit against the City of Detroit Land Bank [DLBA].
A judge ruled in Curtis' favor, awarding the 1908 foursquare-style home at 451 E. Grand Blvd. to theRehab Addict Rescuestar, instructing her to complete a renovation of the property and reduce its risk to the public.
Curtis alsoshared her excitement about the news on her Instagramwriting, “Simply stated, right is right and [DLBA] wrong is so wrong. Thank you for all your support & anyone else out there with a case - contact us. This is just the beginning.”
She added in a second post that she nearly dropped the case two weeks ago but said her lawyer told her to “hang in there…shut your phone off, hide out” while they awaited the court’s decision. “I did just that,” she said, and in this case, it paid off with a ruling in her favor.
“It’s absolutely sickening the lengths [DLBA] went through to discredit our work and me, personally. Relentless and vile,” she added.
Lauren Ariel
Issues first arose in February 2018, when the DLBA- a public organization whose “mission is to return the city’s blighted and vacant properties to productive use,” according to their website - contacted Curtis and said that the house she had paid for actually belonged to them.
As of August 2020, the DLBA had “obtained Title” of the property, the suit states, and real estatelistings showthat the 2,641-square foot, 5-bedroom house was put up for sale at the beginning of March for $40,000.
Nicole Curtis.Melanie Szafraniec
Curtis filed a lawsuit in March 2021, claiming she had already spent “approximately $60,000 including a significant amount of time and labor” in order to repair the home and incurred other costs including “renovating, safeguarding, insuring, paying taxes and maintaining” the property.
“Nicole is suing them for the money that was invested in the home,” a representative for Detroit Renovations told PEOPLE at the time. “Nicole is still open for resolve, but the DLBA has refused.”
The DLBA refuted that statement in March, saying, “Ms. Curtis has never been the legal owner of 451 E. Grand,” and she was “offered multiple opportunities to sign an agreement with the DLBA to rehab the house, which she refused.”
source: people.com
