A Maryland circuit court judge has refused to halt forced evacuations at the Marylander Condominiums, handing another defeat to homeowners who say vagrants disabled their heating system four months ago.
In a brief order dated Monday, Judge Robin Bright rejected the residents’ emergency petition. Her order noted they “failed to show that immediate, substantial and irreparable harm will result before a full adversary hearing can be held.”
Eighteen unit owners in the Adelphi-area complex filed suit on March 30, three days after a federal judge in Greenbelt rebuked their condo association for not seeking relief in state court first.
The complaint argues that a state court order violated due process rights by empowering Prince George’s County deputies to force residents out indefinitely “without serving, notifying, or affording any opportunity to be heard.”
“Due process requires notice and an opportunity to be heard before deprivation of a protected property interest,” the complaint states.
Roughly half of the complex’s 200 units lost heat when a boiler ruptured the day before Thanksgiving. Residents in 58 of 108 affected units refused to comply with an “unfit for human habitation” evacuation notice posted Dec. 10.
Court papers show that the condo council has been unable to secure a loan for repairs since the directive to “vacate immediately” prompted the bank to withdraw its financing.
Condo owner Rolando Lopez, a Bolivian immigrant and plaintiff, said residents have nowhere to go.
“We don’t need the heat because it’s warmer now, but we’re going to fix it,” Mr. Lopez said Thursday. “We’re not planning to move unless they come in to force us.”
In a Feb. 17 enforcement order, Maryland District Court Judge Bryon Bereano directed property managers to begin repairs and authorized evacuations.
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Judge Bereano urged deputies to “step up” evacuations during a March 17 hearing and scheduled an April 21 follow-up.
Meanwhile, the county’s Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement has asked the circuit court to place the Marylander in receivership.
Inspectors raised safety concerns about high-voltage wires that contractors erected to power space heaters and pointed to a lack of evidence that homeless people vandalized the boiler. They also accused property manager Quasar of delaying repairs.
Receivership would allow a neutral third party to take over operations, pay bills and finish repairs while residents are evacuated.
Devan Martin, a spokesman for County Executive Aisha Braveboy, said “the county’s position has not changed” after Judge Bright’s order.
“The impacted buildings on the property deemed unsafe should not be occupied, and we are committed to working with every resident to relocate them accordingly,” Mr. Martin said in an email.
Since Thanksgiving, the condo has been without heat through one of the coldest winters in years, though the county requires indoor temperatures of at least 70 degrees Fahrenheit for habitability.
In a March 27 order, U.S. District Magistrate Judge Ajmel A. Quereshi cited precedents blocking federal courts from overturning state orders without cause.
But he gave the condo council 15 days to amend its lawsuit. His order conceded the council had “arguably” shown forced removal could cause “irreparable harm” to residents with pending immigration cases who need uninterrupted mail delivery.
County attorneys said during a March 23 hearing in Judge Quereshi’s courtroom that officials planned forced evacuations within two weeks.
As of Thursday afternoon, that had not happened.
The condo council’s federal lawsuit seeks millions in damages. It blames county officials for creating the crisis by servicing the homeless encampment and allowing it to flourish with fires and tents on a neighboring lot.
Residents say transients regularly break into common spaces to sleep, defecate, copulate and use illegal drugs.
Phil Dawit, Quasar’s managing director of real estate, said vagrants were scaling a recently repaired fence with a ladder this week to enter the property.
“Their desire to evict residents is on the basis of the heat, but the weather now is getting warm,” Mr. Dawit said. “If they’re evicting people in the spring or summer, is it actually for the heat or because they’re trying to shut down the community?”
