DOVER, Del. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a Delaware lawmaker who owns a house damaged in a fire that broke out in an adjacent city-owned dwelling.
Rep. Stephanie Bolden, a Wilmington Democrat, claimed that the city repeatedly ignored her complaints before the fire about vagrancy, drug use and other conditions at the vacant property that negatively affected her property. She claimed the city's failure to act violated her constitutional rights and deprived her of her property without due process. She also said the city was negligent.
The judge ruled Tuesday that Bolden failed to identify a city policy or custom that deprived her of her rights.
He also said the city was immune from being sued for negligence because the structure it owns is not a public building.
