Bolus sues city in property dispute
A lawsuit against Scranton by resident and businessman Bob Bolus claims the city made "misrepresentations" to him about ownership of a section of land next to his home that he wanted to buy, and that the city improperly approved a subdivision of that property.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Lackawanna County Court, which seeks at least $50,000 in damages, interest and costs, centers on a 16.5-foot-wide "deeded waterway" cutting through property on Birch Street fronting Mr. Bolus' home on East Mountain.
Though called a waterway in the lawsuit, the strip is dry and likely contains old pipes underground connecting to a spillway at nearby Mountain Lake, he said. The strip had been intended as a potential waterway for overflow if the 3-acre lake was threatened with flooding, he said.
During the subdivision, Mr. Bolus, who has lived on Birch Street for 25 years, said he told city officials that the city owned the 16.5-wide strip, but it fell on deaf ears. The lawsuit claims the subdivision was improperly approved because the deeded strip was not properly identified.
A year or so after the subdivision went through - and before two homes were built on the Birch Street land - Mr. Bolus offered to buy from the city the deeded strip for $50,000, but his offer got no reply, according to him and his lawsuit.
Around late 2011, Mr. Bolus raised the issue before city council, which made inquiries to city solicitor Paul Kelly, who told council the city doesn't own the strip, Mr. Bolus said. However, a title search by Mr. Bolus found a deed from 1915 stating the city owned the 16.5-foot strip, and the city's ownership appears to carry through to the present, the lawsuit claims. If the city had transferred the strip to a new owner, that transaction would have had to have been approved by council, but it appears no such action ever was taken, the lawsuit claims.
Mr. Bolus' attorney, Tony Moses of Kingston, said, "If the city owns it and said, 'We don't want to sell it,' OK. But either they're not being truthful (about the ownership) or it was transferred (to a new owner), but not according to the proper protocols."
Efforts to reach Mr. Kelly and Mayor Chris Doherty were unsuccessful.
Mr. Bolus said he wants to buy the strip of land.
Contact the writer: jlockwood@ timesshamrock.com