Commonwealth Court has denied an appeal by the Stacey family over the city of Hermitage's demolition of a house at 1560 E. State St.

Helen Stacey, 92, of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, is named as the appellant, although her son, Raymond, has power of attorney over her.

The Staceys appealed the Nov. 6, 2000, order of Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Thomas R. Dobson that denied their request for a permanent injunction to stop the city from demolishing the house.

Raymond Stacey, of Niles, Ohio, said he hadn't decided whether to appeal, but his attorney Armand R. Cingolani III of Butler, predicted, "I expect my client will want to appeal further. It's been a heavily litigated case."

City Manager Gary Hinkson said he doesn't know how much the litigation has cost the city.

The Staceys have 30 days from Nov. 8, the day the court ruling was filed, to appeal, but Supreme Court has the right to turn away cases it does not believe warrant hearing.

The issues in the case go back to 1997, when the city informed Mrs. Stacey and her husband, Andrew, that the property was in violation of the property maintenance code.

The city declared the property a public nuisance and ordered the couple to leave.

Commonwealth Court, a state appellate court, considered the Stacey family contention that the house should not have been razed, the city improperly denied her a hearing on demolition, the opportunity to make repairs and/or sell it and to remove personal items, and improperly razed it.

A three-judge panel of the court said since Mrs. Stacey did not appeal the city's demolition notice, she was not entitled to a hearing, and agreed with Dobson in backing the city's contention that the house needed to be razed.

Informed of the property's problems in 1997, she did not make any substantial repairs to bring the house up to code, the court said. The only action was to truck in two loads of sand and put it into the basement, which had caved in because of flooding.

On the issue of selling the property, the court said Raymond Stacey testified at a Sept. 5, 2000, hearing in Mercer County court that buyers were interested in the property, but offered no documentation.

The Staceys were notified of the impending demolition July 1, 2000, and Raymond Stacey was at the property weekly, nullifying the argument that there was no opportunity to retrieve personal items, the court said.

On the issue of the improper razing, Senior Judge Jess S. Jiuliante wrote, "While we do not condone the city's haste, we cannot say that its actions were improper."

The city demolished the house the day after Dobson's ruling.

Andrew Stacey died at age 92 shortly after the house was demolished.

The only setback in the ruling for the city was that the court denied its request for the Staceys to cover attorneys fees.

H. William White III, who represented the city, said the denial is not uncommon, given the fact the city has placed a lien on the property to recover the costs of demolition and boarding up windows and doors when the building was declared a nuisance.

Raymond Stacey has filed for a building permit with the city. He said he has no plans to build, but believes securing a permit will make it more attractive to potential buyers.

Hinkson confirmed the city received the permit application last week. "It was unclear as to what type of construction as far as the use," he said.

The city sent a letter to Stacey asking for clarification and is awaiting the response before acting on the application, Hinkson said.

You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Joe Pinchot at

jpinchot@sharon-herald.com