SAN JOSE — The owner of a San Jose residential building has sued the owner of an adjacent lot that fires have scorched twice, claiming the blazes and blighted conditions have damaged his property.
The lawsuit is the latest legal complication arising from the ownership of an empty lot in downtown San Jose where a housing tower was planned but never built, and a fresh reminder of the blight woes in the Bay Area’s largest city.
Sunding Brothers, an entity that owns a small apartment building at 160 North Fourth Street, has filed a lawsuit against the owner of the adjacent property at 146 and 152 North Fourth Street, where two destructive fires have occurred this year.
A real estate entity headed up by South Bay business executive Brent Lee owns properties at 100, 146 and 152 North Fourth Street, all connected parcels where fires occurred in March and August of 2024.
The first fire destroyed two Victorian-era houses on the 146 and 152 North Fourth sites. The debris from the first fire was not removed in the wake of this blaze, direct observations by this news organization show.
The second fire scorched the debris and lumber pile from the first fire and damaged the residential building at 160 North Fourth, according to documents filed on Sept. 26 in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
City code enforcement staffers have issued multiple notices, warnings and citations linked to the properties the Lee-controlled entity owns at the North Fourth sites, city and legal documents show.
The complaints include mounting levels of solid waste, accumulation of refuse, improper storage, an unsecured property and blight, the Santa Clara County court records show.
“The long history of warnings and citations relating to the safety and security of the Lee Properties, and the lack of any improvement to the properties over the years shows that defendants have had notice of these issues for some time and still failed to make any improvements,” Sunding Brothers stated in its complaint.
In November 2023, San Jose sued the Lee-controlled business entity that owns the blighted property in a quest to shove the fire-torched lot into a court-ordered receivership. The city eventually may wrest ownership away from the Lee-headed business entity and auction off the blighted lot.
On Oct. 7, this news organization contacted Lee to obtain his views and perspective regarding the empty lot.
“I can’t say anything beyond the court record,” Lee said. “I have an attorney.”
During a conversation with an attorney for Sunding Brothers, Lee blamed San Jose city officials for the problems at the fire-torched lot. No elaboration was provided in the court filings.
Firefighters required eight hours to extinguish the March blaze. The problems, however, didn’t end when the flames were put out, city and court documents show.
“The debris pile could be ignited again at any point in the future due to the properties being unsecured, the dangerous nature of the flammable debris pile, and based on the activities of the unhoused persons who frequently occupy the fire wrecked properties, including by having open fires for cooking,” the Sunding Brothers lawsuit states.
The fire during the summer caused even more damage and at least one injury.
“On Aug. 20, 2024, yet another fire broke out at the 146 and 152 North Fourth properties which yet again threatened the safety of plaintiff’s tenants and caused extensive damage to the 160 North Fourth property exterior,” the Sunding Brothers lawsuit states. “This fire caused the daughter of one of the plaintiff’s tenants to be taken to the hospital due to smoke inhalation.”
Sunding Brothers is also concerned that fire-damaged palm trees could flop over and cause further damage to its residential building.
“The damage to the 160 North Fouth building includes at least the replacement and repainting of the entire exterior siding on one side of the structure, the replacement of the roof for the entire structure, the replacement of damaged windows, the replacement of the water heater, and the cost of permits for these repairs and replacements,” Sunding Brothers states in its court filing.
The repair costs are “at least $200,000,” Sunding Brothers added.
In April 2024, a dog that belonged to an unhoused person who had illegally entered the 100, 146 and 152 North Fourth lot attacked a tenant and her dog, which left the pet seriously injured, legal filings show. Just before that incident, gunshots were fired in a drive-by assault that targeted an individual who was camping on the burned-out lot, multiple court filings state.
Sunding Brothers also says at least one of the tenants has terminated the lease for the 160 North Fourth building, causing a loss of income.
“Defendants are thus causing plaintiff substantial damages with each passing month due to lost rental income,” Sunding Brothers states in its lawsuit. “The status of the 146 and 152 North Fourth properties is further interfering with our ability to find new tenants.”
