EXTRA CONTENT: Attorney files lawsuit aimed a forcing city to tear down Jesson St. home

Read the entire text of the lawsuit by clicking here.

A local attorney has filed a lawsuit against the city of Corbin asking a judge to force city officials to tear down a home that he claims has become "a disgrace to the citizens of the community."

Corbin lawyer David O. Smith filed the civil complaint in Whitley Circuit Court Aug. 8 on behalf of EZ Demolition – a company Smith created years ago to demolish the old EZ Mart on Master Street and that still owns property on Nile Street in Corbin.

At issue is 108 Jesson Street owned by the estate of Mary Sharp, Earl Sharp Jr. and Bobby Sharp of Whitman Lake, Michigan. Smith said the city has failed to enforce its own property maintenance laws in regards to the home.

"What prompted me to file the civil action was the fact that after repeated complaints to the city’s Building Inspector about the problems there, it was obvious he wasn’t going to take any affirmative action to rectify the situation," Smith said.

In the lawsuit, Smith said that the city has enforced property maintenance laws on other homeowners, and to not do so in this case would be discriminatory and a case of selective enforcement. He is asking a judge to declare the property a "public and private nuisance" and order it demolished and the property cleaned, mowed and kept litter free. He is also requesting a trial by jury and attorney fees if successful in the litigation.

Smith owns a development of upscale town homes on Jesson Street called "Jesson Place."

But Corbin Building Inspector Frank Burke, who also serves as the town’s Code Enforcement Officer, said allegations that he’s failed to act on complaints regarding the condition of the property are untrue. A notice of violation was issued to the property owners in Oct. of 2000 and again in June of 2002. On both occasions, the residents of the home brought the property into compliance.

Burke said he received a complaint from Smith for the first time in Jan. 23, 2006. A citation for property maintenance violations was issued to homeowner Mary Sharp the next day. She paid a fine to the city and corrected the violations.

A citation was issued again in February of this year after Smith wrote a letter to Burke and members of the city’s Code Enforcement Board complaining about the condition of the property. The three-member board fined the homeowners $750 for lack of property maintenance, accumulation of rubbish, illegal storage of vehicles, and sanitation issues. Since, Burke said Sharp died and her son, Bob Russell, only recently learned about the problems and has been granted a grace period to attempt to correct them.

"I gave him 30 days and told him I would re-inspect the property then," Burke said. "Since that time, he’s done a lot of cleanup. He still plans on putting gutters up and stuff like that as money becomes available."

In the lawsuit, Smith names the city generally, the owners of the property and all of the members of the city’s Board of Commissioners by name: Mayor Willard McBurney, and commissioners Phil Gregory, Dennis Lynch, Bruce Farris and Joe Shelton.

In 2005, he filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of EZ Demolition in regards to the old Corbin Municipal Hospital. A judge ruled in his favor. The hospital was purchased by KCEOC, a non-profit organization that addresses the needs of low-income individuals and families in the area. The group tore down the hospital in 2008, under court direction, and plans to build income-based housing on the site.

Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon said Tuesday that he was satisfied Burke was working diligently to address any problems with the home.

"The pictures I saw attached with the lawsuit versus the way the property looks today are quite different," Cannon said. "It looks tremendously better."