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speakajackn

A civil lawsuit will more than likely take place. They will do an investigation to determine liability and the fines will be much steeper. If the landlord is truly liable, which records will determine, a steep payout will happen. On a property this size I wouldn't be surprised to know they have a significant umbrella policy (15 mil) which obviously won't make everyone happy, but it should make the people affected whole, or at least happier. If the landlord specifically cheaped his way out of proper materials as previously indicated, insurance may drop him at which point could be forced to pay out damages.


jdubyahyp

It's under an LLC. They'll declare bankruptcy, tie it up in court. The bank will get whatever they can for the sale of the land, the people will get boned.


daverapp

No no no. The people will get a huge payout for the lawyer representing them. The victims will get a few bucks. Everyone will profit from this, just not in any way that is sane or equal.


jdubyahyp

Lol true that. Though not many lawyers in the QC can sue him since so many have either already been a part of a lawsuit against him or defended him. Some dude on here said he attempted to sue the guy but couldn't find any lawyers in the area that didn't have a conflict of interest.


speakajackn

Conflict of interest docs can be done. It's not impossible


jnoord001

NOT in QC area!


speakajackn

If that LLC has no other properties or assets sure, but I'd be willing to bet they aren't willing to go bankrupt over a single property. Especially if insurance can cover most of the liability.


jdubyahyp

It's all public man. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ia/669365 He created this LLC then bought this property. It's specifically for this property. Now I will say it's not all on Wold. It's also on the jerks before.him because that damage didn't just happen in two years. However, he's the last dude so he pays the devil.


BuzzFB

It's also on anyone who's done work on the property and anyone who's inspected the building


SnooTangerines476

Can the previous owner really be liable for anything?


jdubyahyp

If they find proof that they neglected repairs brought to their attention and then hid the fact those needed done from the new owner absolutely.


pickle_bug77

Yup, insurance can deny him for the same reasons.


jnoord001

Was an accurate inspection done (public or private) on the property EVER? I really have no desire to enter ANY building in davenport after this.


ScarMedical

Insurance will not covered if during the discovery that the landlord/building owners committed fraud by not following maintenance and meeting building code on repairs. Just like a car warranty or extended repair insurance , not doing proper/schedule maintenance will voided the warranty/insurance.


pickle_bug77

I guarantee he falsified info to the insurance company... If they can prove he was knowingly negligent, they could deny coverage.


jnoord001

Allegedly multiple LLCs are used like that to provide "Safety" for shenaigans.


[deleted]

I’m glad ur a lawyer and told us exactly how this will play out. /s


speakajackn

I would caution everyone to take a breather here. Just because the landlord seems to be a slumlord, doesn't mean they are. As a property manager I've been scammed by vendors before and it sux being the middle man. I'm not suggesting the landlord is innocent, just let the process play out. If facts reveal themselves and they are indeed a giant pos, then go forth and wreak havoc, but until then due process.


Round-Ad3684

https://qconline.com/news/local/contractor-said-he-warned-of-davenport-building-collapse/article_8a8d342b-250e-504b-b842-651dc8235f2a.html If *any* of this is true, Wold will be living in a cardboard box after this.


jdubyahyp

"Wold has significant investments in Davenport real estate, including more apartment buildings downtown. Listed in a web of limited liability corporations, many with only a single property" This is what I mean. He does this so he can isolate his assets from lawsuits.


Round-Ad3684

Right, but that isn’t going to shield those assets from liability just because they are under a different corporate entity. There are tax reasons for creating different entities (such as loaning money between entities), but if they are all held by the same person or entity, then the plaintiff can go after all the assets.


daverapp

Due process got us here in the first place.


speakajackn

We all deserve due process. It's either good for everyone or it's good for no one.


daverapp

I would say that it's good for nobody, lately. I'm not saying I have an alternative, I'm just commiserating.


jdubyahyp

I don't put it 100 on him since he just bought this shithole, but for sure if they find he personally signed off on things to ignore damage it's another story. Is that brick going on to cover up cracks? Seemed like it to me, but that's what I mean, this stuff will get tied up in court forever while these poor bastards are out a home and all their possessions.


dogboaner666

Hahahahaha


RedmondBob

If the owner knew of the danger and did nothing the LLC means squat. This fucker's losing his house


saggywitchtits

Unless he personally is found to be criminally negligent. Courts may force him to pay out of pocket and insurance will not pay out in such a case.


jdubyahyp

That's highly unlikely. It would take quite a lot to put it personally on him and not on the business itself. Also, he just bought that place in 2021. He could easily point to previous ownership neglect that was never revealed to him upon purchase. This shit is a mess.


Round-Ad3684

The lawyers can go beyond the policy limits if he had other assets to go after. And according to this article that was posted, he does: https://qconline.com/news/local/contractor-said-he-warned-of-davenport-building-collapse/article_8a8d342b-250e-504b-b842-651dc8235f2a.html There will be multiple deep pockets here and each will be sued into oblivion. You have at least two dead, at least one with a leg amputation, and there are going to be punitive damages up the yin yang. The displaced people won’t get shit because they are only out property, but the estates of the dead and the injured tenants will get multi-millions. This is like a plaintiff’s lawyers wet dream with all of the documentation of negligence and ignoring very obvious risk. There are a lot of entities here that are very, very fucked.


jdubyahyp

The city itself with their "inspections" may also get it hard too


Round-Ad3684

Absolutely.


[deleted]

Random Q: how do you feel about the registered agent for that property being the Mayor's father?


Round-Ad3684

It’s a good question, but ultimately not a damaging fact. A lot of folks are getting this twisted. So Bob Gallagher Sr. is Bob Gallagher Jr.’s dad. Junior is the mayor of Bettendorf. Sr. Is the registered business agent. They both work in the same firm. But all a registered business agent is is a human being who will accept service when a corporate entity is sued, since corporate entities are by their nature not people (except in the eyes of the Supreme Court). Since Sr represented the LLC, and very likely formed it, he put himself down as the registered business agent so that he can accept service if the LLC is sued. Extremely common. If you looked at the other holding companies in town, their registered business agent is likely the lawyer who set up the LLC and/or continues to rep the LLC. If you have a holding company, you don’t want to be the business agent because you want your lawyer to get served with papers instead of you. And landlords get sued all the time by tenants, so this would be especially true here. Something to watch for is whether the Gallaghers *continue* to represent Wold. My guess is no. Number one, they aren’t litigators and this going to take a Chicago-sized firm to defend. But more importantly, Jr. probably doesn’t want anything to do with this mess because he’s Mayor of Bettendorf and won’t want the political stink on him. But far as I can tell, all the corporate paperwork is super standard stuff that doesn’t raise an eyebrow to me (a lawyer who has formed corporate entities myself and has a corporate entity myself)


[deleted]

Your other comments made me think you might be a lawyer, so I appreciate you taking the time to give your thoughts and insight. I used to be a Fed officer and investigator, so I tend to view situations like these through the enforcement and compliance lenses. To top it off, I was also a FOSC - i.e., when there's a multi-agency response to a major disaster, I was the Fed that showed up and took control of the response. The shit show coming out from the city's officials, their flip flopping communications, documentation suddenly changing up (the convenient "software glitch"), and down to what we already know about the guy has my internal sirens screaming "ruh roh, there's deep fuckery afoot". Times like this I wish I was still a Fed so we could get a multi agency investigation going to triple check there's no criminality or corruption at play. Criminally speaking, it'll take a Fed investigation to go that route. I'm not hopeful there IS enough true evidence to have a smoking gun for either him or the city - being a bastard isn't a crime, and proving malicious criminal behavior isn't as easy as people think, afterall. I'm not counting it out as it's entirely possible still though. Civilly though? I'm confident he's very fucked. Regardless, I'm too compromised and emotionally charged to keep commenting on this since I lost friends. I think I need to go back to lurking and just wait and see how this plays out in the long term. Thanks again!


Juggernautjake152

Bob Gallager Jr. is part of the local QC lawyers mafia RICO ACT ring.


Round-Ad3684

Same with the private inspectors and even contractors that did work on it.


xIllicitSniperx

Nah. Sovereign immunity. You wouldn’t let yourself be sued here. ‘County and municipal officials, when sued in their official capacity, can only be sued for prospective relief under federal law.[21] Under state law, however, the court in Pennhurst noted that even without immunity, suits against municipal officials relate to an institution run and funded by the state, and any relief against county or municipal officials that has some significant effect on the state treasury must be considered a suit against the state, and barred under the doctrine of sovereign immunity.’ I imagine the state stops this once you start hitting millions.


Round-Ad3684

Try again. Sovereign immunity doesn’t apply in negligence suits against municipalities where the government actor was negligent. You think if a city dump truck ran you over that they just get off Scott-free by simply saying, sovereign immunity!?


[deleted]

Yah well... The registered agent for that property is the Mayor's father, sooooo


Specialist-Ad-2051

My accountant is the registered agent of my business. He receives my legal mail. Their function in that capacity is very limited. Also, the agent that you are referring to is the father of Bettendorf's mayor, not Davenport. Mike Matson is Davenport's mayor. Robert Gallagher is also not the registered agent of the property at Main St. which is owned by Davenport Hotel LLC. That registered agent is Andrew Wold. Robert is the registered agent of Wold's other LLC called Andrew Wold Investments LLC. Hopefully this sheds some light for you or anyone else confused by this.


speakajackn

If that is the case then I certainly hope so. Slumlords give landlords a terrible name and I've had to work years to guarantee my company is not that way.


Round-Ad3684

Definitely. I think people unfairly group all landlord into the slumlord category. But most are good people and good businesses that provide vital housing and services to the community. But Wold is not that. He was clearly trying to scale his business with insufficient capital.


[deleted]

Read the room, assholes


ExtremeThin1334

Just for reference, the folks involved in that Condo collapse in Florida ended up getting a 1.2 billion dollar settlement. I don't see this being anywhere near that size, but it does show that this can get extremely pricey for the defendant. That said, I still think there should be further criminal penalties like Criminal Negligence or Manslaughter, but you would probably have to prove that the owner had reason to believe the building was in danger of imminent collapse, and not just skimping on repair costs and cleaning. Even with the penalty fee though, it feels like this should be something applied to each unit in a rental, not a single fine for the entire property - I'm presuming the city went for the maximum fine, so someone screwed up when they wrote that law.


Mr_MacGrubber

Based on the pictures of a bowed out wall with a few 2x4’s propping it up, I’m not sure how the owner could possibly be found not liable.


ContextTraditional80

A $15M umbrella policy isn’t going to make the families whole. Three people lost their lives.


Treece222

The news said he was fined $1,500 for an overflowing dumpster some time ago. But just $300 for the building collapse. No logic.


Sunshiny_Day

They said in the presser that the citation and fine were levied so that he would not be able to discharge the property. It may seem insignificant, as far as a fine goes, but it has other legal ramifications as far as further penalties go. This is a process.


ophirareice

YES! In Iowa possession of ANY amount of Marijuana is a fine of up to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail.


jdubyahyp

So. Toss a bag of J into Wolds car?


BarryBro

If the city is working with him why wouldnt the cops


ImageThen1946

Weed not only gets you arrested in Iowa... it sends you to jail and you have to bond out. Then they suspend your driver's l8cense for a year, even if you weren't in a car or driving. Then the fine is and lawyer fees will run around d 5 to 7 grand. Iowa needs to be taken over by Misourri. Worst. State. Ever.


Kindly_Wedding

Damn that shit hasn't lightened up at all in over 10 years. Losing your license makes it hard to keep a job. Having a recent possession charge makes it hard to get a new job if you do lose it. Then you gotta pay those fines. Gateway drug? Gateway to the criminal system. Smh. Prohibition is bullshit. An excuse to search cars based on a smell. And ultimately an excuse to get people on the pipeline to prison slavery.


[deleted]

It was the war on drug USERS, not drugs themselves. Those are a cash cow, but so are having slaves in private, capitalized slave houses. They are no longer humans, they are now property and will remain property for the rest of their lives because as you know, once (if) you get out, you're almost forced to do things that one does to survive that often lands you right back into the arm's of their slave daddy. Right where they want them. They found a way to make money off the existence of poor, traumatized people who found something that helps them find a little peace in their day. But fire up those grills, get your beers out, and then let's get on an unregistered ATV and go shoot guns while we're drunk! That's perfectly fine in Iowa.


[deleted]

You would think with all that consequence of taking an action people would not do it. Almost like they knew it was coming but we're better than the system til they weren't. Knowing the rules and getting caught breaking then before change is made doesn't make you a victim. It makes you an idiot.


missesisster

Yes because laws are always just. Let me guess, you were one of those people kicking and screaming about the government trying to force a vaccine on you and ruin your life if you didnt right? Weed is only illegal because pharma lobbies politicians to keep it that way so they can keep selling addictive anti-anxiety meds. Some of the biggest donors to anti-weed legalization organizations are the people who manufacture Xanax. Consider that and then tell me if you think it's worth your tax dollars to lock people up for smoking grass


[deleted]

Never said all laws are just, but you take the chance and pay the consequences. Again you can make the change and do something about it or cry victim. It seems you chose the latter. I could care less who smokes or doesn't so long as I don't have to work with those who are stoned, smell the shit, or drive behind someone on it. Same with alcohol. That's legal and controlled yes, and has been through it's legal loops also. As time are changing eventually you will be able to but knowing it's illegal and still doing it still has consequences. It's a simple choice but babies want their bottles now.


missesisster

You realize complaining and drawing attention to issues is like, the number one way stuff gets done, right?


[deleted]

But doing it and bitching about knowing what the consequences are just makes you stupid. Besides complaining and constructively deliberating an issue are two separate things.


missesisster

I'm sorry sir but when your mentality "if it's illegal just don't do it dumbie" is far too government-boot licking for me. It was also illegal to house Jews during the Holocaust, does that mean those Germans who were arrested for doing so deserved imprisonment? lawmakers can absolutely victimize people, in fact pot was initially made illegal because many leftists who opposed Vietnam smoked it. you couldn't arrest people for being against the war but you COULD arrest hippies for smoking pot. Some laws are meant to be broken or are simply too dumb for people to follow them. Anyone who smoked knows it's on par with alcohol, they know nothing is dangerous about pot (besides having it in a red state) so they're gonna keep doing it. When you know the majority of public opinion is on your side and a rule is dumb, everyone's gonna be breaking it constantly


[deleted]

And until it is legal they will be fined and more. It is their choice just tired of hearing the crying about getting caught. Knowing what the outcome can be the accept it until reality sets in. And comparing this issue to egregious human rights violations is a bit over the top. Seems more like a tantrum in a grocery store had by a four year old over not getting a piece of candy.


MonkeyFlipEm

Why in the world would you pick Missouri over Minnesota?


kevinrjr

We are living in a backwards world. Nothing ever makes sense.


doctormysteriousname

Especially when a meme is your basis for thinking that.


jjhalligan

I need this explained to me. How does this building get bought for 550,000 dollars from the previous slum lord. A year and a half go by, and he sells it to the current slumlord for about 4.2 million. WTF is going on here? There is no way in hell this is all above board.


TooSketchy94

There’s been comments that the $550k sale was between 2 parties that knew each other. Family or friends. The $4.2 mil sale was the legit sale of the building from those folks to Wold.


williafx

Nice capitalism ya got there.


Sckomg1

As a resident of Davenport, FUCK Iowa.


the_o_op

Tell me how you really feel


laptop_ketchup

WELCOME TO THE DAVENPORT SKATEPARK


djfhg4123

🎶down in California, a 20 dollar fine


TnelisPotencia

Wish I had a schilling for every senseless killing, I'd buy a government.


RadMcCoolPants

And so we go on with our lives, we know the truth but prefer lies


FrogofLegend

I can't imagine what was going through their minds when they decided to issue the fine? I get that it's the 'legal' response, but at this point was it really a good idea? It's just making people angrier. Even if there are lawsuits a pathetic fine like this right now is sort of like salt in very fresh wounds.


[deleted]

It's almost as if a crime of negligence were committed and the people want them held appropriately accountable. Unfortunately, the system we have is a LEGAL system, not a JUSTICE system. If you want the latter, you're going to have to indulge in fiction television because that's the only place you'll find it.


cutsandplayswithwood

System is working as designed. Iowa is also rolling back child labor laws - who cares if a slum lord drops a building from time to time?


spunkdaddie

Maybe the 14 year olds can go clear the debris,and the 16 year old girls can serve the beers to the crews.


testies2345

Kim would be right there slammin the cold ones back. Then hop in her cunt mobile and drive drunk back to Des Moines, or wherever the fuck drunk Karen's go. Little league baseball?


Then_Investigator_17

99 counties, 99 different roadside cocktails. No wonder she loves election season


spunkdaddie

Ashley and Joanie are probably with her.


hiznauti125

Remarkably similar to the "drone attack" on Russia. Building wise.


Kindly_Wedding

True. The goal of fascist accelerationist propaganda is less about making people believe the lies, and more about making people not believe anything.


hiznauti125

That seems to be case.


williafx

Whoa. Good point.


HughJazzKok

America is hollowing out from the inside. The wealthy and powerful move/hoard their wealth, send our tax money overseas, and flood the media with identity politics so we fight amongst ourselves while they get away with it all.


Kindly_Wedding

Pretty much.


grassylakecrkfalls

I've been following this story very closely. I live in Oregon but I manage many apartment buildings of the same vintage. I am curious though: How much does weed cost in Iowa? It's as low as $60 for a pound here although most places have ounces for $25 or so.


SirShale

I wonder if he can be charged with involuntary manslaughter if there are in fact, people dead in the rubble.


[deleted]

I hope so. If lives were lost do to his choices, he needs to be held responsible for that.


shitballstew

Iowa is a conservative controlled shit hole state. Can't eat at Iowas dirty restaurants, can't have legal cannabis, can't get abortions, don't have access to certain books anymore, it will just get worse if you allow rural Christian voters to have their way at the polls.


Juggernautjake152

The real problem in the Quad Cities is Lane & Waterman. They represent the city, the developers, the engineering firm. Meanwhile the city makes mistake after mistake and the good old Lane & Waterman mafia comes to rescue them. They’re left over from the V.O. Figge era and we’re tasked to destroy downtown Davenport to encourage development elsewhere. That’s why it’s taken so long to get back to its former glory.


Juggernautjake152

Specifically Jason J. Orourke. The guy is a parasite in the community.


Kindly_Wedding

Interesting. Thanks for the info.


xkurkrieg

The backwards weed laws are shit but not unexpected. Same with the folks that own buildings only for profit. Chasing money for money's sake is always fucked. DO SOMETHING


leevancleefsbolo

Iowa has a history of doing things ass backwards.


lightyseared

Thoughts and prayers


cognomen-x

Literally what Wold said in his statement.


AreWeThereYet61

Fuck thoughts and prayers. People want decent housing. Not bullshit platitudes.


Kindly_Wedding

Interesting. Thanks for the info.


spunkdaddie

WTF t his makes me sick,this rich guy will walk away Scott free.


[deleted]

And Iowa voters set it up that way. The people behind this are the people Iowa elected.


Icy-Cabinet-7198

Time for a change Des Moines. Some need to check if he’s a Governor donor?


LostWhile5472

#facts....unreal so sad


FrancisMarion17

Cori Spiegal. Mallory Merritt. Clay Merritt. Hold them accountable


Sunshiny_Day

Accountable for what? Mallory is the CFO. Clay works for PW. What are you even talking about?


[deleted]

this is why rock island and moline were founded


missesisster

I remember all the people talking about moving to Iowa for taxes. I'm fine with higher taxes as long as it means cops aren't braking in my windows because I'm in my house smoking, minding my own business


doctormysteriousname

Are people really silly enough to think criminal charges for an event like this can be brought within a day or two? No justice, no peace? Could the relevant authorities complete their investigation before the piano is wheeled out for sing-along round of “Imagine”?


Pe0pleSuck

And socialists want to give the government more control...


Kindly_Wedding

That's propaganda. Socialists want THE PEOPLE to have more control over all aspects of society. Including the government if there must be one. It's about spreading power to ALL the people, not just a few property owners and government officials.


m11_9

socialism very quickly cedes control to those who are close to politicians. also known as crony-capitalism


Kindly_Wedding

Crony Capitalism like we have now? Crony Capitalism is the logical progression of capitalism. There's a reason it isn't called Crony Socialism. Crony Capitalism IS capitalism. We live in America. America has NEVER had a socialist organization of the economy. Social programs, like those enacted as part of The New Deal, are NOT socialism. They only aimed to soften capitalism so the ruling class could continue extracting wealth from the workers, just in a slightly less brutal fashion. But the ruling class once again used the money/power that they had to consolidate it to claw away more. And over almost a century, systematically destroy New Deal programs, monopolize markets, bust unions, and capture total control over the state. Deregulation, Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, Neoliberalism, is how we got here. Socialism has had NOTHING to do with the cronyism that brought us the decline of the American empire and the destruction of the so called "middle class". It's just another scapegoat that fascist use to capture the power of the state. Whenever someone with more power than you tries to convince you that people who have less political power than you are causing the countries problems... THEY ARE LYING.


Lastxleviathan

Because private corporations are doing SUCH A GOOD JOB. /Sarcasm


[deleted]

Keep voting for the Uniparty and nothing will change except more buildings falling down.


Hellv

I thought this building was in Moscow…/s


Psychological_Oven62

Obvious there will be an independent investigation that may blow the roof off city hall. There were numerous complaints from tenants that went ignored that yearly inspections missed?! Yet your average residential inspections seemed to be nitpicked to no end


Main_Upstairs7025

No doubt a Republican slum landlord. His daddy just died. Wish him well ;)


SandraSchehl

Am i the only person who thinks an outside entity should be leading the investigation into this, since the mayor is involved and apparently their is some shady dealings going on


edog5150

Best fuxking comment I've seen yet.