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Superior couple sues ASU prof over shoddy buildings

SUPERIOR — The ongoing saga of a college professor’s burgeoning real estate empire has escalated into a lawsuit.

The 12-page complaint from Bill and Jenny Holmquist claims that their neighbor, Arizona State University business professor Glenn Wilt, is killing their own real estate dream by allowing his holdings in historic downtown Superior fall into disrepair.

Wilt has reportedly bought several historic properties in historic towns east of Maricopa County as investments because he sees Valley growth heading in that direction. The properties are in places such as Superior, Miami, Globe and Hayden, according to press reports.

The Holmquists argue that he has sat on them so long that they are now crumbling and impacting their own investment on Superior’s Main Street.

Their squabble has made it to Town Council meetings. But the recent lawsuit in Pinal County Superior Court turns up the volume.

The complaint states that in March 2007, the Holmquists bought a building on West Main Street with the hopes of fixing it up and renting it out to third parties. Wilt owned the Uptown Theater next door.

Over the next few months, the Holmquists had trouble patching up their own building because parts of Wilt’s buildings were falling down in their way. At one point, town officials ordered them to stop their work and told Wilt to fix the theater.

In June 2007, the Holmquists say they entered into a six-month lease for their property. They canceled it because of the “hazardous condition” of Wilt’s property, the complaint says.

Since then, it’s been a back-and-forth game between the Holmquists, Wilt and town officials, who have ordered Wilt to demolish the old theater. He promised to “shore it up,” the complaint states, and the building still stands.

The Holmquists are represented by Mesa lawyer Brent H. Bryson. He is seeking actual and punitive damages for the income the couple lost on their investment property.

Disabled A.J. woman sues HOA over towed van

APACHE JUNCTION — An Apache Junction Homeowners Association is facing stiff penalties and a discrimination charge from the lawsuit of a local property owner who found her handicap van towed from in front of her home.

Sharon Turley claims the Arizona Goldfield Homeowners’ Association discriminated against her by not making “reasonable accommodations” for her disabilities and violated state law by not providing proper notice and opportunity to be heard before towing the van.

HOA officials first said they would respond to the situation in a meeting scheduled to be held the following month.

When the meeting never happened, Turley took the case to Pinal County under the Federal and State Housing Act.

In towing the van, the suit claims the HOA also violated the Planned Community Act, which requires that only after associations have given notice and the opportunity to be heard can associations impose monetary penalties.

Turley wants her HOA cover all expenses of returning her van to her and providing the needed exception to their parking regulations.

As of filing the complaint in late October, the van still sat in a holding lot, amassing a several hundred dollar holding fee at a rate of $15 a day.

To make matters worse, Turley soon after began receiving threats from the owner of the lot that the van will be sold if it is not soon retrieved.

‘Swingers club’ at heart of Bullhead City suit

BULLHEAD CITY — An employee of Bullhead City says she was sexually harassed at work and passed over for a promotion because she refused to join a “sex swingers” clique at work, according to a recent lawsuit.

The five-page complaint comes from Rusti Holguin, a public works employee who says she was subjected to profane comments, touching, pornographic emails on city computers and solicitations to join the clique.

She was denied a promotion after she reported the incidents. The city also did its own internal investigation, and its 300-page report supported her claims.

Phoenix lawyers Tod and Bradley Schleier are representing Holguin.

Warden takes prison to court

FLORENCE — The former warden for the state prison in Florence is suing for wrongful termination after he was forced to quit for allegedly rounding up and harassing female prison employees.

The 9-page complaint comes from Benedict Martinez, a former employee of Corrections Corporation of America, the private Maryland-based company that runs the Florence facility, among others.

According to the complaint, Martinez worked for the company from April 1996 to October 2006.

In the complaint, he says he solved many problems for various facilities that involved prison gangs, dysfunctional personnel and falsified records. In March 2006, his boss, Ronald Thompson, gave him glowing marks in a review.

Five months later, the suit claims, he was forced to quit. Thompson asserted an internal investigation revealed he had cornered and harassed female workers, a charge Martinez denies. He was later demoted and sent to a facility in Panama City, Fl.

Martinez claims he was singled out because he is Hispanic. He is seeking damages and fees, but not reinstatement to his old job.

Phoenix lawyers David Gomez and Michael Petitti are representing Marinez.