Detroit has taken HGTV alum Nicole Curtis to court, filing a civil nuisance-abatement lawsuit that claims a long-troubled East Grand Boulevard house tied to her company is still sitting unrenovated and posing a danger to neighbors. The complaint, filed Wednesday in Wayne County, says the property has racked up repeated correction orders and code violations that were never resolved. City attorneys are asking a judge to order repairs, collect fines and, if the owners refuse to act, put the house under a court-appointed receiver to finally get the work done.
The lawsuit zeroes in on 451 E. Grand Blvd., where inspectors from the city’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department say they found missing permits, no required compliance certifications and a failure to register the property as vacant. The filing also points to piled-up trash, overgrown vegetation and deteriorating structural features that the city argues are a safety hazard for the block. The suit asks the court to mandate repairs, impose fines and let the city recoup its enforcement costs, according to the Detroit Free Press.
This property has already seen one legal showdown. Curtis’ company, Detroit Renovations LLC, took ownership after earlier litigation with the Detroit Land Bank Authority. In 2021, Wayne County Judge Timothy Kenny declared the house a nuisance and ordered that it be renovated, according to ClickOnDetroit. That ruling put the responsibility for finishing the rehab on Curtis, yet the city now says the problems never went away…