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Land contract lawsuit may be moved to federal court
YOUNGSTOWN
A lawsuit alleging a land contract company has been engaging in fraudulent and criminal activity in Youngstown may be moved to federal court.
The law firm Brouse McDowell, which is representing Vision Property Management and the defendants named in a lawsuit filed by nonprofit law firm Community Legal Aid, filed a “notice of removal” Wednesday afternoon, asking for the case to be moved to federal court.
The lawsuit is eligible for adjudication in federal court because it includes RICO accusations, which would be a federal crime.
Steven McGarrity, the executive director of Community Legal Aid, said the move proves that the case has teeth.
“It shows that they’re taking this lawsuit very seriously,” McGarrity said. “And that’s good, because so are we.”
The defendants in the lawsuit could benefit from the move to federal court in several ways: it moves the case out of local jurisdiction, meaning the jurors won’t be local nor will the judge, and Vision Property and the named defendants have fought cases in federal court before.
A hearing was originally scheduled for Thursday to determine whether the court would grant a temporary restraining order against Vision Property Management that would halt the company’s ability to evict local tenants until a ruling was made on the lawsuit.
That hearing was cancelled, but a temporary restraining order has been granted while the lawsuit is in flux.
Brouse McDowell could not be reached to comment.