Owners of demolished El Cid Hotel sue Las Vegas over abatements

Owners of the former El Cid Hotel and two other decrepit properties demolished in downtown Las Vegas have sued the city over the cost of earlier emergency work to keep the buildings safe.

Sophie and Jeffrey Lau petitioned the District Court on Dec. 11 to reverse or set aside an administrative hearing officer’s decision last month to approve nearly $50,000 in total liens on the three properties, which are owned by the Laus through two California-based companies, court records show.

While the city contends the liens reflect the costs of emergency abatements needed within the past year as the buildings became hazardous, the property owners have cast the price as excessive. They also accused city officials of failing to provide inspection and abatement notices or follow appropriate procedures for instituting fees and fines.

Work performed at the vacant El Cid is illustrative of the dispute: The city said it incurred more than $22,000 paying a contractor to board up the motel’s first two floors and open elevator shafts, but the owners protested it should have cost less than $8,000, court records show.

The emergency abatement was ordered in December 2018 following a blaze at the property, at Sixth Street and Carson Avenue, where seven people were rescued from the motel by the Las Vegas Fire Department. Fire officials estimated as many as 50 squatters were living in the building, vacant since 2006, at the time.

Emergency work was also performed at two other Lau properties, the nearby El Cid annex and the former MI Residence Hotel.

In February, the City Council declared the El Cid and its annex be destroyed at the owners’ expense, saying the Laus had been unresponsive to code violations and criminal activity in the properties.

The three buildings, including the MI Residence Hotel, were demolished prior to the administrative hearing in September, when the Laus were ordered to pay $62,000 in civil penalties, according to the suit.

But they claim the penalties were imposed arbitrarily and that the city violated their due process rights, among other points of contention.

An attorney representing the property owners did not return messages seeking comment Monday. City spokesman Jace Radke said the city does not comment on pending litigation.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.

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