ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) – Attorneys were in court Tuesday in a lawsuit brought by Tower Grove South homeowners seeking to hold the city of St. Louis accountable for allowing a homeless couple to occupy a neighborhood sidewalk for more than three years.
The Sudanese couple has been living on sidewalks in south St. Louis for approximately five years, moving between locations along Chippewa and Spring streets. Residents say the couple has continuously refused offers of assistance.
Lawsuit targets city’s response to encampment
Owners of a home on Spring Street filed the lawsuit after the couple spent more than three and a half years camped in front of their property. Attorney Bevis Schock, who represents the homeowners, argued the city should be held financially responsible for failing to remove the encampment sooner.
“The whole neighborhood was affected because the prices of their property would drop. People would try to sell their house and couldn’t,” Schock said…