Florida beach house is left leaning precariously on neighbors’ homes in viral pics after tornado – as owners are sued for refusing to demolish the $1 million three-story pad
- A million-dollar beachfront home collapsed onto neighboring properties during a January tornado, leaving the owners of two neighboring homes unable to live in them
- The owners of the damaged homes have taken legal action seeking more than $2 million in damages after efforts to remove the fallen home stalled
- The incident, compounded by previous damage from an earlier storm, has caused all three homes to be deemed unsafe by Bay County authorities
The owners of a Florida beach house left in a precarious corner after a tornado in January are being sued by their neighbors after all three homes were deemed unfit for living.
The $1 million, three-story home in Panama City Beach now appears to be sitting on top of houses next door, but the owners are refusing to tear it down, according to a complaint filed earlier this month.
Gene P. Stienecker and William Lawrence III, both neighbors, cannot live in the homes nor repair the “extensive” damage caused by the property.
The homeowners attempted to have the house demolished, but a planned demolition scheduled for March 4 was halted, according to a legal complaint.
The house has been leaning since the storm hit overnight on Jan. 9, but owners James Sturgeon and Yik Chun Wu, who have owned the Panama City Beach estate since 2014, believe they cannot legally are obliged to remove it.
A million-dollar beachfront home collapsed onto neighboring properties during a January tornado, leaving the owners of two neighboring homes unable to live in them
The owners of the damaged homes have taken legal action seeking more than $2 million in damages after efforts to remove the fallen home stalled
The house was built in April 2018 and has tilted and fallen once before after Hurricane Michael struck in October of that year.
The lawsuit, seen through the Miami Herald sees the neighbors suing Sturgeon and Wu – and seeking an injunction requiring them to remove their home.
They are also seeking damages in excess of $2 million, which will be decided by a jury.
“Stienecker and Lawrence have done everything they can to have this property removed so that they can move on with their lives while trying to protect themselves in the event that further damage occurs during this process,” attorney Rebecca Gilliland said in a statement .
“The lawsuit is simply an ‘attempt to have this matter resolved and hold (Sturgeon and Wu) accountable for the damage caused by their fallen structure.’
The latest incident occurred during a tornado that struck on January 9
This is what the house looked like before it leaned on the neighbors
Both homeowners live in Georgia and do not live in the beach houses permanently.
The house was built in April 2018 and has tilted and fallen once before after Hurricane Michael struck in October of that year.
It was the first Category 5 to ever impact the Florida Panhandle.
The house “has caused repeated and persistent damage to plaintiff’s property,” the complaint says.
The province can now impose fines on all three houses or try to have them demolished.