Baltimore homeowners renew calls for compensation from city over destruction caused by massive sinkhole

BALTIMORE -- It's been nearly eight months since a sinkhole caused the destruction of three homes on North Avenue in East Baltimore. 

On Wednesday, two families renewed their calls for the city to reverse course and compensate them for what happened.

Back in July, the sinkhole formed near North and Homewood avenues after a 115-year-old storm drain underneath the homes collapsed.

Thiru Vignarajah, who represents Monique Bess, one of the homeowners, criticized how the city has handled this and claims the city must not have been inspecting the storm drain diligently.

Vignarajah stood with his client and Quentin Bell, who also lost his home to the sinkhole, at the corner where the sinkhole happened last July.

"We are standing at the intersection of Homewood Avenue and North Avenue," Vignarajah said. "We are also standing at the intersection of incompetence and a dereliction of duty."

Bess and Bell stood silently next to Vignarajah, but in the past have described to WJZ the pain of losing their homes.

"When I bought that property, I worked two jobs to pay for it. So, I owned it free and clear," Bess previously said. "It hurts that now it's not there."

The two have sued the city to compensate them for what happened. 

In its denial letter from November, the city said, "There was no notice to the City of Baltimore of any issues prior to the date of the incident."

Also, citing state law, "the claimant must first show that the City had notice of the defect which caused the loss and a reasonable opportunity to correct the defect."

Vignarajah said that the response lacks common sense, and the city likely didn't inspect the storm drain too recently.

"If you don't inspect the storm drain, you won't see what fault lines might be forming," he said. "If you don't conduct the inspection, you won't be able to see the repairs that are necessary to avert disaster."

The city didn't respond to requests from WJZ for this story. In the past, WJZ has been told the city doesn't comment on matters in litigation.

Vignarajah said it's only a matter of time when another set of homes turn into a dirt lot.

"We're not criticizing their decision to demolish the homes. We understand that was necessary," he said. "But, it became necessary because of their neglect. Who falls victim next is anyone's guess."

In the lawsuit against the city, three counts are listed, including negligence. 

Each count is calling for more than $75,000 in compensation.