That's not what malicious means. I'm not defending the company, they should have to pay the estimated value of the home pre-destruction plus a whole lot more. But malicious means when you do something with the intent to do harm. It's like the company mistook the house for another house they were supposed to demolish, or got the wrong information some how. If this is the case then it would not be malicious intent.
@Splint Meow That's not what malicious means though. You can't maliciously try to cover a mistake up. Because malicious means intending to do harm. If it's a mistake, it's not intended. The word just doesn't mean what you think it means . Purposefully trying to hide it isn't malicious either, because trying to hide a mistake would be more like malfeasance, because the intent wasn't to do harm, but it was intentionally trying to avoid legal liability. Which is not the same.
The fact that someone can COMPLETELY demolish your house and the city won't do anything about it is insane and disgusting. That entire city board needs investigating by a 3rd party, there's major corruption going on.
@@Thunderbyrd. That’s revenge, not compensation. Always seek compensation first… THEN revenge… maybe really fine (microscopic) print accepting demo of his residence after final payment to victim 😀
*If you cannot easily SUE someone for "accidentally" demolishing your house, we are truly in a messed up world. I pray she sues and gets more than it was worth* a
better yet, I hope they get the house rebuilt. that would be the the only way out for the construction company in question, although making sure they are at the right place is also a good idea.
You can easily sue for anything, at any time. This is America! But, lawsuits are expensive and you don't always win. Worse yet, sometimes when you win the defendant has no money so you get nothing but a large bill from your lawyer for your trouble
You can bet whomever comes to her and tries to buy the property is the very bird behind getting the house torn down. Those mistakes don’t happen without a purpose behind them. If i were her I’d never sell it.
I'm curious as to who gave them authority to even demolish the home. Somebody paid for it. You don't demolish a home with out showing home and property ownership.
@@dennislarsson1723 obviously the next video on "It's a Southern Thang". This appears to be a rural area bayou backwoods boys operation. We'd LOVE to catch someone "on the Take". The problem here is just complete stupidity, and it appears to cover more than the wrecking company.
When you accidently kill someone, it's called "involuntary manslaughter". There is no "malicious intent". Its still against the law. Whoever made the mistake should be charged.
You really think accidental property destruction is a crime? I don't know US law, but I still doubt it is. In my country it isn't (accept in cases of accidental 'arson'). Otherwise any car accident would be a crime. Comparing property damage which can be fully repaired with civil compensation and damage to human life is a bit questionable. And like you said it is called "involuntary manslaughter", so there is a law that explicitly calls it so. Unless there is a law called "involuntary property destruction", it probably isn't a crime.
@@Temo990 if accidental "arson" is a crime, then you just proved my point. And with most car crashes, citations are in fact issued. Fines are paid. One (or more) parties are at fault. Negligent crime is still crime.
@@davealmighty9638 Yes, but only because in my country it is explicitly made a crime. Other accidental property destructions are NOT crimes. One must concider that arson is very specific in the fact that fire can spread itself (and easily harm people or even whole cities), any other property destruction cannot. It totaly depends on if the criminal code of your country/state punishes that. I don't think that it is absolutly inherent (meaning obviously or naturally true) that accidental property destruction is a crime.
The law can be so useless sometimes. Clearly someone demolished that house without proper authorization and the police are just like "deal with it yourself, we have speeding tickets to write."
I suggest that this despicable action is a matter for the courts, not the police. Especially since the damage was done and the perpetrators long gone before the owner knew her property was destroyed. The offhanded "explanation" that it was a *mistaken demolition* isn't possible.
You obviously do not understand the difference between civil and criminal law. Also, if you don’t live me the law, speak to your legislators. Legislators make the law not the police.
@@user-peach408 a lot of people confuse civil and criminal law. Even in criminal acts. In California, the legislators made it part of actual law that one has to identify the actual driver in ticket cases (photo radar) in order that a person can receive a ticket. It inadvertently moved to cover car owners who may commit hit and run. They just have to claim someone else was driving, but they don't know who. On the various dashcam compilation channels, clips showing hit and runs will oftentimes claim 'nothing was done' by police (in spite of the cammer not getting an identifiable picture or video of the driver). However, the car's owner is identified, and thanks to the law, not the cops, the cammer can only pursue insurance (obviously civil cases). The lack of a criminal arrest is due to how the law was written.
"We can't prove malicious intent" would be the response. What I would expect: The cops are also in bed financially with whoever did it, that wants to buy the property and develop it for something.
So what exactly was their intent? If they are so incompetent they can go and knock down anyone's house at any moment and it is not criminal. Do the police really get to decide someone's intent shouldn't they give the case to courts to decide that? Maybe the cops can decide that in any case of theft or harm or murder that there was no malicious intent. It doesn't make any sense to leave someone on their own to deal with this. The demolishers should have their licences withdrawn if they are so incompetent, they obviously pose a risk to other homeowners.
Probably a greedy developer trying to get the land and build another development. Hired a demolition company for pennies on the dollar. Best of luck to you woman. Do hope you have an honest lawyer representing you. Very sad for the loss and memories of your grandparents home.
Being stupid isn't necessarily a crime. e.g. grandparent hits the gas instead of the brake and runs into a storefront. grandma isn't going to jail. That's why civil court exists.
The longer their insurance waits the more this will cost them as a retired senior claim adj. I would tell them do it now and be generous a jury will crucify u.
What grounds does a Company have to just show up and decide to demolish someone's property without first securing the authorization in paperwork from the actual owner. I used to work for a demolition co. Before we were legally allowed to begin any work, we first had to clarify that the person wanting anything torn down was the rightful person who had say so over the said property. Then we had to obtain permits depending on the zoning or location plus call 811 to give us all clear to make sure we wouldn't disturb any gas, water, or berried power cables. To make a long story short... Someone had other plans and if I were her, I would sue the crap out of this company and furthermore I would not sell the property.
Right, Mr Ryan. There is alot of 'legaleze ' with property; land and buildings, etc. Along with said utilities. TRESPASSERS SHOT ON SIGHT, WITH DOUBLE BARREL 10 GAUGE, LOADED with rock salt.
A proper demo company would have removed all the debris and left the property in safe condition with hazardous areas fenced off. Something very fishy here. Find a good lawyer. Discovery will show who hired the demo company. If it's not an honest address mixup, criminal charges are warranted.
It isn't even a real demolition.. looks like someone just knocked it over. Demolition involved hauling away the rubble pile, watering trucks to control the dust etc.
"Next to the Fairgrounds"...sounds like there needed to be some expansion. A lot easier for them to get someone's land than a house. And there was malicious intent if they did it without the proper approval and paperwork, did not admit to their mistake, have never contacted the owner and offered her no compensation.
"Hello, Bob's demolition" "Hi I was needing to have my house torn down. It's the one house on the west side of town with the doors and windows and stuff. It's next to a tree." "We'll get right on it!"
@@neilkurzman4907 If at wrong address, then permit DID NOT APPLY, permit is ONLY VALID at CORRECT ADDRESS. Anything less/different is ILLEGAL. If they want to say OPPS! WRONG ADDRESS then county should be checking if they are doing EXACTLY what permit applied for said. They are holding up the: “I’M SO STUPID” sign on the street corner for all passersby to see already!
@@bobabooey285 It’s only a crime if it refers to a specific statute in that state. It’s possible it’s a crime in many states. Just not this one. To have committed a crime you must meet all of the criteria set forth in the law. If someone trips over you and is injured, they can sue you for their injuries. If you can be proven that you intentionally trip them then it’s also criminal. But as they say you must be convicted by a jury of your peers. So what evidence is available to the police to show it was intentional.
The father-in-law of a good friend of mine had a similar thing happen to him. Instead of demolishing an existing house, a contractor built a new house on some property he owned in Myrtle Beach, SC. The contractor built on his empty lot instead of the one down the street about half a mile. After the court case was settled, his father-in-law is now the owner of a new house, completely paid off.
@@TheSiriusEnigma backwoods bayou boys. We have that going on around here in Canada in a rural area (lots of money,but contractors that all failed HS together). they do all kinds of builds without Code, permits, or paying attention. Many are illiterate. I had one guy I handled custom doors/windows for and he'd never give me an numbered address. Several times I dropped the very large orders off at the mirror image build down the block.
@@TheSiriusEnigma. The property was 350 miles away from his main address. He found out when he visited the beach and found the house about 3/4 finished. He had a lawyer do research and kept quiet until everything was done. The lawyer took care of working everything out. The only thing he paid, in the end, was the lawyer and the increased tax bill for the new home.
@@TheSiriusEnigma I work for people that buy million dollar houses they’ve never physically seen and maybe spend a week in them a year. Don’t under estimate people who have too much money and their ability to waste it.
“No malicious intent” unreal.. Must have been a real short “investigation”. Seems like they jumped to that conclusion awfully quickly. I’d also have the lawyer look into any potential ties or contracts with the township. This does NOT seem like just a “civil matter”
To be fair, being stupid isn't necessarily a crime. e.g. grandparent hits the gas instead of the brake and runs into a storefront. grandma isn't going to jail. Unless there's a history of negligence or corruption, it's a dumb ass mistake. That's why civil court exists. Playing devils advocate, should you get imprisoned (financially responsible, yes) for a typo or accidental miscommunication? Edit: A reply for replies conflating issues. DUI is a crime. Hit and run is a crime. My example of elderly running into storefront is an accident. They should be financially responsible for damages, but jail time wouldn't happen if it was found to be a legit accident. There are plenty of examples of stupidity or unknowingly doing dumb stuff that doesn't warrant criminal prosecution, which is different from civil cases. Not knowing all the details of this particular instance, there are legit scenarios where a company can be stupid and assumptions/mistakes are made along the communication of a company resulting disastrous consequences, but no one is going to jail. Stupidity isn't necessarily criminal, but they are financially responsible for their mistake...there's a difference, and why civil court exists.
@@emmakai2243 Remember that cartoon where the guy standing next to the wrecking ball says to the lady: 'you're correct, we do have the wrong house". !! Still, do the right thing.
@@emmakai2243 A vehicle operation error is nothing like a home demolition. It takes a lot of effort, equipment, and a moderate amount of money to demolish a structure. It seems more likely to be some kind of real estate scam.
@@Mavrik9000 Again just because it was a paper work error or just them being stupid doesn't = Malicious. that's why we have civil court, she can sue them. And attempt to reclaim the value of the home, will she win more then likely seeing as the owner admitted to it being a mistake. And best guess will settle out of court to avoid extra cost with that.
I’ll guarantee that there’s a lot more to that story than is being told. Who paid to have the house demolished?Wrong house? What house was scheduled for demo? Was anyone living there ?
How can you “accidentally” tear down a house? In my state you have to have a lot of paperwork submitted before you can start. I agree with other people on this thread, somebody wants that property, probably cheap, and if I were her, out of spite, never sell. You can’t have anything anymore without someone trying to take it from you. There’s something more going on here….
@@indeepjable No, they don't. Check youtube, dozens of videos of different houses getting demolished by mistake because they go to the wrong address. The one video, the guy was inside taking a shower when a bulldozer started knocking his house down.
Yeah. But that is a victimless crime. All victimless crimes fall under the preview of the police and always persecuted for revenue. How they going to make money here.
Get a really great lawyer. Sue the hell out of them. They probably stole everything they could...like appliances, copper wiring, memories, and took the house away from the owners. That is STEALING. I am looking for Prison sentences to come out of this and the business license of that company to be taken away and a big cash settlement for this woman.
Maybe it WAS a mistake, but not notifying her when they knew WAS proof of malicious intent. I hope she bankrupts those people, and literally takes their home so they can feel what it's like.
"Sorry, wrong house, live with it". Sounds like police when they raid wrong houses. Is there no one who takes responsibilities for their actions any more? I feel so sorry for this woman. So much lost that can never be recovered and not even an apology. Disgusting
@@JohnSmith-fq7hj Well of course, but in Australia we have laws , if you don’t pay rates , you lose your house ,,it goes back to local authorities to sell ,,I think 5 years of unpaid rates or as you probably know it , taxes, . So basically you never own anything lol 😂, Yes they should not have pulled down her house , But it seems that people can do anything these days and get away with it,, Personally I think you’re better off having the money don’t leave things sit ,,
Imagine some company just mistakenly destroyed house of the mayor, governor or some big judge and the justice system claimed there was no malicious intent there.
@@dillonventola408 yeah but I think we both know there’s two tiers of “justice” in this country and it sure as hell wouldn’t have taken a year to figure out if the hypothetical was actual.
Reminds me of the fact that some local government somewhere wasn't doing anything about the catalytic converter thefts until one of the politicians had theirs stolen.
How in the ever loving hell is it worse than a hit and run?! You value property over a human life? My dad was a victim of a hit and run. If you asked me what id rather have hit by a vehicle the house or my dad I'd rather have the house smashed! What a shallow person you are!
Update: She sued the construction company, Greg Landry Construction, in 2022. I have found no mention of a settlement, but it could have been settled out of court.
Not every city/county has to file a permit for construction or demo. Also as they stated, they company demoed the wrong house. Soneven if they filed, the addresses would not match.
I work in Germany as geologist in construction site analytics (if you can call it that way), and it happend, that we got the contract of analysing a property, while the ownership is not clear. Technically they have to agree in the contract, that the ownership is clear, but well, it still happend.
@@pikkozoikum8523 Prudent as contract puts liability on client/owner (alleged owner). Here demo contractor either went to wrong address or (similarly) client gave him it.
I'd hate to pay that company's liability insurance. Seems like everything should be in writing ACCOMPANIED BY PHOTOS to protect both parties. This must have been a big shock to both parties. Would love to hear "the rest of the story" when it reaches its conclusion.
@@bujmoose3992 Correct. So finding out who paid for it tells us nothing. There’s no point in following the money because it would go back to the people who wanted a different house demolished.
It became malicious when they didn't attempt to notify her of the mistake. The person in charge of the crew that demolished the home should be criminally responsible as well as the owners of the company on top of being financially responsible. I can't total someones car an then leave the scene without repercussions. This isn't any different.
Sorry but saying "It was a mistake" as a company that demolished an entire house just doesn't cut it nor should it ever. In fact that the company just thinks just saying that is enough is beyond me. This should absolutely be won in civil court in favor of the family and they should receive not just the value of the property but way more than that. This is just unacceptable under any circumstances.
@@haveraygunwilltravel What you think is or should be illegal... often isn't. And vice versa. And incredibly often with good reason too. There is such a thing as a perverse impulse or effect. If it becomes illegal to make a mistake, you might think nobody will make mistakes. Sure, that might happen - when pigs fly. What actually will happen is that people now have a good incentive to add a few real crimes on top, like coercing the wrong owner or forging paperwork. It's not in the interest of society to legislate against mistakes. It *is* in the interest of society to have a process for *resolving* mistakes.
I used to believe that was true. Most of my life in construction it was true. My bosses never got paid for a job until the job site was cleared of all debris. Then I moved south.... I was a landscaper. Once I moved south any jobsite I went to was covered in debris. Often more than a foot deep close to the buildings. Evidently, down here, you get paid no matter how much trash you leave behind.
@@redtra236 in my city of you get a permit for a demo the inspector will absolutely check that the material was taken to the city landfill and the dump fees paid
@@redtra236 Depends on the laws in the state. For the Worker it's a health and safety issue. Some states don't give a damn about that sort of issue. Just sayin'....
@@rittherugger160 Exactly it depends on the work order, local/state laws, etc. If the work order is for demolition only the people who demolish the structure might not be the ones that are cleaning it up.
In this day and age with technology at our fingertips, there's no excuse for accidentally a demolishing the wrong house. What about the connected utilities? And they left the debris behind, which tells me an awful lot about this whole situation.
I doubt it was a mistake, if it had been a mistake they would be having to still demolish a home somewhere due to not having done it when they demolished this one.
@@biff322 And it took them over a month to figure it out? The home they were supposed to tear down is still standing and no one has noticed? The owner of the home that was supposed to be demolished a month earlier hasn't been by to check the property or ensure the job was completed? You are either naïve or intentionally ignoring the facts.
@@biff322 because they can just go and tear down any place by just using google maps ain't it? I don't know about where you live but from what I have dealt with, demolition companies will need permits and have ground and area plans before demolition and if they do shit without it, you know they have a massive lawsuit coming for trespass along with whatever else. There is zero justifiable reason why they wouldn't know where the place is and what the exact area plan and property limits are. Very clearly a "mistake" that was likely intentional
Small town-behind closed doors-back room-politics. And I agree, a company can’t say, “Oppps, we didn’t mean it” and skip away. Malicious intent has nothing to do with it! The gall to say that to this lovely woman! Put this company’s feet to the fire and they’ll spill the beans.
This is very shady to say the least. I am in new construction, we have torn down houses to replace with another on private lots. Never have we ever torn down a home without express consent of all owner(s). With that, all owners must sign a contract, signatures are notarized, that way we are protected and there is no mistaking anything or overlooking a part owner. As well, Ive never been involved in a demo job where debris like in this video is left behind. We comply with our state and local codes, set up silt/dust fences, this is a dangerous maybe toxic, (possible some asbestos), mess left here. Seems someone might have had a beef with the landowner going on here. Someone hired the job out, but still no reputable co., would proceed to demo a house w/o express verbal and written permission from all the owners.
The Government pays them to get rid of empty homes. They want to increase property values and therefore taxes. That is why they are not being charged. They work for the Government.
Yup, right there with you. Any demo i was on and it was 15 years worth, 90% of the time we hauled off the slab too. The pile of rubble in a high demand area and with no consent says we have dirty pelosi type politicians looking for a cheap land grab.
The debris raised a huge red flag to me, I just didn't know exactly why until I read some comments like yours. I've never seen a demo-ed property with debris leftover like that. (I live in an older part of town that's not always well cared for, so there are several places along my commute to/from work that have been demolished for various reasons... every single one left clean af.) I also wondered if it wasn't standard practice, perhaps even required by law, to get express written consent from all owners... info which can and should be verified with official property records from the local government or whatever. I wonder if they didn't finish hauling off the debris in an effort to gtfo, hoping no one would see them?
I’m guessing city officials wanted the property and didn’t think anyone related to the original homeowners was still alive. This has to be approved somebody had to pay for it. Something stinks about this and its not poop on my shoe.
All they had to do was check with the PVA’s office to see who was paying the property taxes. There is NO EXCUSE. Oh it was malicious alright. It’s probably someone with the city or county and the cops are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to do their job and investigate this destruction of property. I hope they do some follow up stories and out who the person behind this is.
Since when does the lack of malicious intent matter? Many people get arrested for things they've done wrong accidentally, but with no malicious intent.
Not really. Criminal negligence or recklessness requires that someone be put in danger during the act. This is strictly property damage with not a soul around. It is absolutely a civil matter unless theft is involved.
What's pretty wild to me is that the company was hoping that nobody noticed them demolish the wrong house. They didn't contact the property owner, didn't leave a note or letter or even have someone stay behind to TRY to explain their "mistake" until witnesses linked them to the scene.
A small town I lived in Indiana when I was a kid the city was trying to improve it's image and decided to eminent domain and take over a bunch of neglected properties many with unpaid taxes just to get rid of the houses, overgrowth and trash and clean up the lots. They took a blitzkrieg approach and hired an out of town demolition company to come in there with several crews and tear a house down an hour and haul off all of the debris before anyone had time to file any injunctions. A crew got Oak Street mixed up with Oak Lane and tore down a rundown but occupied house and didn't realize their mistake until they saw all the newer furniture and appliances spilling out of it. Another crew got West Main Street mixed up with East Main Street and tore down a rundown but historic old Victorian house that was built by one of the founders of the town back in the 1830's and owned by the local historical society who were in the process of obtaining funds for it's restoration. That got some elected city officials in deep do do.
When a company demolishes a building, don't they usually haul off the mess? Why is all the debris still there? Who even hired them? Too many unanswered questions watching this clip.
I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they figured out their mistake and left the pile of rubble because of reasons. I assume they did have an order to demolish A house and the crew chief screwed up the address. But, I'd find out everything I could about how this happened because it does sound like someone wants that lot.
@@eddarby469 Possible, but if they were honest they would have come forward and let the owner know what happened. I would bet this was done intentionally, for whatever reason.
@@christinemalloy-brooks7540 That seems to be the whole problem. The locality is leaving this all up to her and her attorney to sort out. I find it offensive that someone can knock down her home and nobody at the county/town/city really cares.
She need to get info through the courts who hired them if the city is trying to get the land, or if a developer is trying to buy up property around there. Something's fishy like the city is in on it.
@@spankthemonkey3437 you have to have money to take someone to court. And I would presume she would need to come out of pocket a great deal to go through that process. I would also guess there would be a counter sue charge brought on her for all sorts of things
@@fireboltaz her case is strong and alot of lawyers would take her case free of charge at first or pro bono. The company cant sue her they are the ones who made the mistake. They can try but it will make a jury hate the company that much more and strengthen her case. You need to come down to the real world and think more logically🤷
I'm wondering why a company would destroy a house, (even if it was a mistake), and not clean up the site? That's part of any demo job, clean everything up. It's like they wanted to leave a mess to send a message. I'm with others here who say "someone" hired that company to do that and I suspect a government person or entity who knows the property will be very valuable in the future if "dah dah dah" happens, like a big housing development or Walmart are in the works
I'm sure they cleaned up the valuable parts, i.e. metals - copper, lead and aluminum, some types of brick, especially for period homes, et cetera. Not to mention the fact they probably broke in and ransacked the place they demolished it, I'd be checking the pawn shops for family heirlooms if I was her.
There's more to this story. Someone wanted that house gone without going through the rezoning process. Devil is in the details. I'd look at the city or county leadership to see if there are ties to that demo company.
@@booberry7555 Exactly! I'm shocked yours is the first comment I've seen mention the family. Though to be fair to them, they could've also been the ones to contact the owner to ask if she'd approved that first.
They cannot arrest them, because it wasn't malicious? They trespassed and destroyed a home. If you accidentally started the house on fire after trespassing, would you not be charged? This sounds like high level BS. Since when is maliciousness the standard for being charged? Somebody needs to pay.
Just for fun. Who trespassed? Prove it. The company owner is probably a desk guy & never goes to field, charge him? with what? Some employee that was told to take this hoe & smash that house, charge him? Prove who it was? That's why it's a civil matter.
@@ben6089 its still her family home So when you go on vacation is your house not a home!🤔Should they come because you arent there and knock your home down
That would make sense. If money is involved, it makes sense. BUT..... never count out the possibility of complete and total incompetence and stupidity. Sadly that is MORE common than simple greed.
How do you "accidentally" demolish a house, all of the permits and paperwork and you don’t see a name or address and realize it’s the wrong house? "Mistakes" like this can’t be dismissed, I would fight that.
This was done deliberately, for the property, because there are no other houses around. Everything is missing, and that is grand theft. They took everything and you can bet that if she gets a really great lawyer then they will find her things being sold. I hope that she can get money and even get her house rebuilt, although, it won't be the same of course.
@@jackabug2475 Well why don’t you go over there and investigate the situation yourself. Instead of taking wild guesses and making unsubstantiated allegations. You have absolutely no details to determine what happened.
WTH? How does a company make a mistake like that? How did the company even know about that house? Did they just ride around looking for a random house to demolish? Something smells to high heaven in Mobile,AL!
Police kill people by going to the wrong address all the time. We don't hear about it on the news because "ThE nEwS dOeSn'T wAnT uS To LoSe CoNfiDeNcE iN tHe PoLiCe."
Then THERE SHOULD BE some sort of "fail safe" mechanism or process to assure that mistakes like this aren't made. After all, it is someone's HOUSE, and NOT, oops, cut down the wrong tree, which someone did to me a few years ago.
"They could not arrest them because there was no malicious intent.." That's not at all how the law works. If I fall asleep at the wheel and kill someone I'm still getting criminally charged even though I didn't mean to do it.
@@spacemanx9595 what are you talking about, taking a life is not different to you then destroying a materialistic object? you need to start seeing somebody profesionally.
Let me clue you in on a little fact about the police: they are not there to help you, the citizen. When my house got burglarized and I called the police, they watched the burglar run up the hill behind my house when they arrived. They got out of their cruiser and said to me in these exact words "I'm not walking up that hill" and then they told me they couldn't do anything to help me unless I had already filed a police report. What??? I just called the police and they came to the scene of the crime, and then told me I have to go file a report before they can help me?? After literally laying eyes on the criminal? Now, if the bank is being robbed, do you think they will say that to the bank owner? No, they will expedite the process and get to the bank as fast as possible, and they will go in guns blazing if they even have to, and do everything they can to bring justice to the criminal robber. Which goes to show you what I've said at the beginning of this comment: the police are not there to help the citizens, but as a matter of FACT they only exist to protect the banking cartel. And they will give you this spiel about how "I was just doing my job", which is funny, because that's exactly what people guilty of committing genocides always say.
No malicious intent my Aunt Fanny. As soon as they realized their mistake, halted the demolition part way through the job, (evidenced by the fact that they didn’t remove all the debris) and never contacted the legal owner to take responsibility for what they had done; that is about as malicious as it gets. Let me ask you if this same company went and picked up a load of material that was not theirs and upon realizing their mistake never returned the material nor made any move to pay for it would they not be guilty of theft?
Well you see the thing about that is, unless you're a company you're vermin and treated as such in the USA. Meaning that since they're a company they likely WOULDN'T be charged with any sort of theft, but if YOU a private citizen did it then yes you would in fact be sentenced to 20-50 years in jail for having the audacity to take that which isn't yours when you're not exploiting your fellow citizens already.
I mean what they did was was shady, but not malicious, they would have had to have had to knowingly destroy a house that they had no right to for it to be considered malicious. Leaving after realizing the mistake and not cleaning up after themselves isn't them intending to do harm. It's them trying to not get caught. But that still wouldn't be malice, that would be incompetence and criminal negligence.
@@cactusjackNV It wasn’t the crimes that I meant to equivocate but the mode of commission of the crimes. The idea of morphing from mistake into crime once you realize the mistake and attempt to invade taking proper responsibility for it. Admitting a mistake was made once cornered is not the same as seeking out the wronged party once the mistake is realized. I heard absolutely no indication that had they not been observed during the demolition that they would have ever taken responsibility.
@@KennyRider137 yea it’s called communism. Why do they need the property if they don’t live in it. Only politicians should be able to own more than 1 home. Oh and celebrities to. Oh and anyone who donates big money to the politicians.
I wonder why the Mobile police chose not make an arrest. Property destruction is a crime. That kinda stinks. If it's not a crime, why were they investigating in the first place?
It's no different than if someones brakes go out and they accidentally run thru your yard or house destroying stuff. No malicious intent. So it is just a civil case and not a crime. I still would like to know what the company did with all the old copper and appliances. If they took them with them then that is theft of property. Then it becomes a criminal case.
@@roseharvey2664the only thing they can legally sue for is negligence and inverse condemnation. But most cities have a law in place to where the city is immune from liability in any case of negligence. A code officer must be on site to confirm the address and take pictures before a contractor begins demolition. That being the case, they can get money for suing for inverse condemnation but it won't be that much. I'm not sure if Mobile city has a immunity law against negligence but it's worth looking into.
I am so sorry this happened to her and her family…..and I hope she Sue’s the pants off everyone even remotely involved. This stinks to high heaven of corruption and shady dealings.
Another fine example of how useful our government, district attorneyss and law enforcement agencies are. I feel so bad for her this is ridiculous and a literal travesty of the failure of local government
The owner needs to sue for actual monetary damages PLUS punitive damages of 3 times actual damages because they REFUSED to take responsibility, forcing her to SUE them, plus court costs, plus any other expenses. Their refusal to apologize is another point in her favor.
"No malicious intent" I'd say so, "absolute stupidity and incompetence" fits more. I hope she sues them into bankruptcy or at least for the cost to completely and 100% rebuild the house.
If she's not found complicit in this demolition and as someone looking for a handout, the home will be rebuilt for the current cost of the market. And judging by the footprint of the home, she's probably eligible for $100,000 tops. One thing that was not mentioned was whether or not this home was vacant, which based on the demolition team successfully accomplishing this unfettered leaves me to believe the home was derelict and more than likely a crack house.
@@fireboltaz or she simply was not living in the house at the time of demolition and wasn't renting it out, and the demo crew came in in between visiting periods, whether by luck or intent. Nothing about this gives any specific signs of it being a crack house.
anyone who lives in a place that has been in their family for generations knows how truly priceless such a place is. I hope this woman gets millions of dollars but it certainly wont be worth what she lost in sentimental value.
She will get what the fair market value was for the property + legal fees and additional clean up costs. The house was probably a dump since nobody was living there and it wasn't being rented out. Probably less than 100k.
@@joseph1150 lol She will get a lot more then that. Place could have been a dump, but civil lawsuits go beyond what a home was worth. She will walk away with at min 6 figures plus all the fees.
There's way more to this story! A demolition first of all would require a permit and pre-inspection, that also would encompass locating any possible utilities on the property. Also, an authentic demo company would have cleaned up the debris. I think they'll find a family member was involved in this, no doubt.
@@Me-Just_me We had a house torn down (granted, in Indiana). It was a two month process of permits, utility companies, inspections... I think you're right on. Someone wants the land. She probably won't get enough to rebuild and will have to sell.
I heard a similar story years ago where a demolition crew demolished and hauled away a house while the owner was a work. The driver explained, "Well, I used GPS!"
the police dont care is the real answer, they just want to go home, have you ever had a car stolen, they dont care, in fact your in their way of whatever life their living, women cops will actually give you a dirty look because your mad that your car was stolen
I can't imagine how a company with the ability to destroy a house would be able to stay licensed by conducting business this way. If you think you're going to destroy a house as legitimate business, you'd think they would get a confirmation on that and speak to somebody onsite before doing such a thing. You don't just go to somebody's property and destroy shit on a phone call.
Other commenters pointed out: They didn't come forward before, so how likely are they to take responsibility? They're gonna be working under a new name by now.
So many things about this that do not make sense. [[ First,[[ No other houses around. Impossible to accidently demolish the wrong house. Second, Site does not show, any evidence of inside stuff....Fridge, stove, beds, nothing at all. Was the stuff taken out, before demolition????? [[ Third ]] From all the angles of the camera, of the property, the ground around the house is all level , and green. Two ways of demolishing a house that quick, bulldozer, or backhoe. Both of which would tear the ground up. Something smells bad.
Sounds like they robbed the place, and pushed the structure over to destroy the evidence to me. I'd be curious to know what was included in the construction, like copper and architectural pieces, as well as the prior contents. Mid century furniture/decor and some appliances go for big money these days. If built in the 60s, possibly antiques were there. Reselling vintage and antiques is a booming business. If you have opportunity and means, such as a backhoe, this would not be a difficult undertaking. I'd sue big if it was me.
How do you accidentally demolish an entire building?. There are procedures & verifications which are designed to prevent exactly this type of "mistake". More likely is that there is ulterior motive - some person or entity wants that property for whatever reason.
@UClimuoAqdi2FqD9xsXc7mhA *punches business owner in face* "oops, accidentally punched you in the face, I'm so clumsy. No harm done" *Shoves to the ground* "Oh, no, did I knock you down. Not intentional at all."
How os it not a criminal charge for a random company to demolish your home? So "ooopppss" applies? This is not a "mistake" this is a crime as the company should have verified the address!
I wonder how close the "correct" structure was to this house. If it was nowhere near the house then a good attorney could probably push for malicious intent even though cops dismissed that angle. Maybe someone wants to buy that land so they "accidentally" had the house removed.
This needs to go federal since the officers cannot plead, "without malicious intent," on behalf of someone or some business plotting to destroy or acquire the land due to a possible lie. In other words saying it was a mistake doesn't grant your passage or safe harbor.
It literally does. If something is not malicious and there is no probable cause then there is no arrest. Especially with a company. You cannot arrest a corporation no matter how many rights they are given as citizens. This was negligence but not criminal negligence, thus a civil crime. There was no one in the residence and was not put in danger so unless the police have a direct reason to believe it was without a doubt purposeful they cannot complete an arrest. If you have ever called the police for anything this would be obvious. It is so hard to get them to remove someone from your home even. The cops get in trouble for messing up probable cause and when they do guilty criminals can have their cases thrown out due to the means of their arrest and the gathering of evidence not being just. This is what civil court exists for. An accident occurred and as such she will be able to get the company to pay her for her home as well as other traumas caused by the mistake. The company will not apologize as if they do they will have admitted fault and throw away their ability to defend themselves allowing her lawyers to set the amount of money with no negotiations. The will likely approach her to attempt to settle out of court so as to avoid the legal fees on both ends as well as to under cut her on what she could get in court since a case can take years and she currently needs the money so she can buy a new home.
@@johnnyperry1471 I laugh every time I see these law traps, "we made this law where when you apologize you give up all your rights". Gotta love law, nothing common sense in it, yet you are forced to play the game.
@@unclejim1528 It isn't exactly a law that does it though. An apology can be admitting fault depending on the wording. This is why corporate apologies always sound so disingenuous. If you say, "I am sorry for the thing I did." Then the other lawyer will use that and say, "They admitted that they in fact did it and that it was something bad." This is how lawyer defend and prosecute. Nothing in the law itself says that you can't apologize and a cop cannot arrest you for apologizing for a crime as it is not probable cause. It just ruined your court case. This has to do with judge and jury more than anything. At that point you are not dealing with the law but instead people opinions on your actions and how that relates to the already clear laws.
It doesn't seem to me to be any different than a burglary, you can't just break into a building and walk off with stuff, and then afterwards claim you thought it was abandoned right?
This falls under civil law because the house is defined as property by deed. If their was malicious intent, for example a bitter former partner forged a signature on documents to have it demolished because of spite, then that is criminal intent for criminal law. In this case I would suspect a form of negligence for not having the permits signed or notarized by the owner/ occupant. Or direction was given from a third party who was not authorized. This would require a thorough investigation into whether the Company skipped a few steps with permits to carry out demolition, or did they unintentionally arrive at the wrong address, or was a city official liable for their response on the necessary notarized documents. Key issues: intent, negligence, and liability of the proprietor of the demolition business, and the notary officials. This is a civil case.
“Destruction of Property” is a Criminal Offense in most States. The cops probably know who was behind it. That is why they REFUSED to Investigate! It was probably a county official. Cops are not going to investigate them, no matter what they do.
I would think the company remaining silent once they realized their mistake & hoping no one linked it back to them definitely qualifies as malicious. That alone will cost them in civil court. And, make no mistake, they knew before the job was completed because part of demolition is clean up. They literally knocked it down, said oh sh!t, then bolted.
no, them remaining quiet is not admitting guilt -- admitting guilt would be incredibly stupid considering she plans on suing -- it doesn't sound nice but the company is doing the right thing by remaining quiet
Reality is she may not get a dime, the business that demolished the house can and probably will file bankruptcy, and she will not be able to file a lawsuit.
@@nk-dw2hm Even if they had insurance, but would still have to file a lawsuit with the demolition company, and with our lovely judicial system, as soon as someone cries bankruptcy, the lawsuit is completely stopped and cannot go further...the company can continue as a working company, making money as usual, but cannot be held liable, it will be in a bankruptcy court. Happens all the time, I have personally seen it happen to a innocent family after they spent $40,000.00 in legal fees just to be shut down by the crying of the " B " word.
@@icuinthelight an insurance company having to pay out due to damages caused by the company has nothing to do with other financial obligations that would be held up from bankruptcy
Contractors cannot just drive without DOT, license to operate, no permits or direct name(s) listed as business or board owners, no contractor ins... if company was without the above, then that does seem maliciously intent, due to side stepping every law. Curious if someone wanted that property for other development intent, if criss crossing all DEMO COMPANIES Tax returns, company connections/ownerships/family relations, etc... to any other odd possible connection points unexpected or unbeknownst will show a coincidence lurking in the shadows. I'm sure this is a very uncommon instance to have occured for "no other reason"... No one/ no company can go and big bad wolf anyone's place then declare "No malicious intent". How is putting a piece of heavy machinery through ones home not of malicious intent? Seems odd that anyone would take the liability of siding with the wringing party and declare "no malicious intent." Seems like what a County Official would possibly say if running cover for the wrongful party. For Instance: Even if this was an auto accident & another accidentally cause someone else to be severely impacted... claiming or saying "not of malicious intent", even if driver whom cause accident was following all laws - does not change the fact that it is fault of the initial in full control of actions & reaction that caused irreparable damage to another. For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. ~ Isaac Newton Be an adult and be accountable. Set an example for how people should be when they legit and accidentally do wrong.
@@GIAL.MC1R I'm also wondering if maybe someone tried to contact her in the past about the property and they were unable to find the owner, after a decent amount of time. Then they assumed whomever owned it was long dead so they could acquire the land through some abandoned property loophole or something. I don't know the specific laws, but something like that also wouldn't surprise me.
Who the hell ORDERED the house to be demolished? People don't just show up to an unknown address and just destroy/demolish a house out the blue, unless it's with malicious intent. "Near a Fair Grounds" sounds like the Town/city might have wanted to buy the lot on the cheap. Now that there's no longer an heirloom on the premise....
"IT WAS A MISTAKE. SO IT WASN'T DONE WITH A MALICIOUS INTENT. SO YOU WON'T EVEN GET AN APOLOGY FROM US. IF YOU WANNA WASTE MONEY SUING US, GO AHEAD. WE KNOW PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES" - the company that demolished her home.
OMG, Alabama must be a great place to live. Destroy somebody else's stuff, say it was an accident and no responsibility! Fantastic! Police must have tons of free time not dealing with accidents!
Without personally seeing the act in progress, the Police cannot arrest. They must go before a judge to swear a warrant. If the judge states that it is a civil matter and refuses a warrant, the Police can do nothing. It's not that they are being lazy. They can do nothing without the warrant. I've seen it many times. The Officers get blamed by the victim and the public for something they have no control over.
Most States, including Alabama, follow the "American Rule" where attorney fees cannot be recovered UNLESS it was agreed in advance in a contract by a party you've "done business" with.
Years ago a company started removing the asphalt driveway across the street. Suddenly the workers were setting the pieces back down and drove off. When the neighbor got home my Dad gave him the name that was on the truck. The neighbor tracked them down to a house a few blocks away where they were actually hired to work. This was pre-internet. The company later repaved the damaged area.
That's how it's supposed to work... I mean accept that you or your company has made a mistake and salvage what ever reputation you can by undoing your mistake as fast as possible... Edit: of course doing that without being tracked down first.
There's more behind this ----someone ordered and paid for it.....the owner of the company will squeal the name once her lawyer starts turning the financial screws in order to save hmself from a huge judgement.
Nah they will just file bankruptcy then rebrand the business under a different name. They can even name their spouse or a relative as owner of the new business. She most likely won't get much of anything. If I was the police, I would keep an eye out for whoever is attempting to buy up property in that area.
I bet they thought it was an abandoned house, and they could just build a new house on the land and claim it as their own. There was definitely malicious intent.
I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I can't imagine going through something like that. Family homes are absolutely priceless. I'm sure to say that you are heartbroken is an understatement. I feel so sorry for what you and your family are going through. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
The lady in the news segment didn't post this. WKRG did. She likely will never see your kind well wishes, especially since most people don't use UA-cam 🤔😉 Although someone she knows may tell her it's here?
Someone wants your property, the next thing they do is offer you money and say take it or leave it, and would say the company that demolished it is not insured or no longer in service or blah blah blah.
Depends on the crime though. At least in my country (not the US) accidental destruction of property is not a crime (except in cases of arson), so that claim could indeed protect you. Accidental damage of property happens all the time with cars for example, that isn't a crime here (again maybe it is in some US states, who knows). Although if the company must require some sort of permits for demolishion, you could try to claim that they did know, but didn't care. In contrast to that accidental injury of another person can be a crime (in my country).
A MISTAKE!??! We demolished your house, sorry about that it was a mistake. WTF?! No attempt to make contact, no attempt to go through proper channels and make ammends? Thats the mistake i see here.
Im not surprised the company that demolished the house didn’t apologize i mean they didnt even try to reach out to tell the owners they demolished the wrong house and definitely sue the crap out of them
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: the USA - where someone can simply come and demolish your house, because of "a mistake", and then drive off, without bothering anymore. Freedom, whoohoo!
I used to work for a company that did a lot of demolition work. Before work started, we were required to meet on site with property owners and to have demo permits which clearly state the location, and the extent of work to be done. These permits are signed by property owners, demo company rep and code enforcement officers. Don't see how this kind of mistake would be made.
It's because you don't live in a libertarian state like she does. These people have listened to the nonsense that government is bad for so many decades that they cut corners all the time. Utah is not much different. Libertarianism is nothing more than right wing anarchism.
That is sad. I know how devastating it can be to have your home destroyed. A hurricane destroyed my home. Like her, it was all the lost family items that cannot be replaced that upset me.
The house was next to the fairgrounds. I have watched enough Scooby-Doo to know that it was probably the caretaker of the fairgrounds, hiding under a mask... just set a trap for the zombie, ghost, pirate, or alien, unmask old Mr. Withersbe and sue him directly. Save the taxpayers some money, police don't work for Scooby Snacks.
Not sure how it works in that state, but just because Andy & Barney won't lay charges on the company's owners doesn't mean charges can't be laid through the homeowner's lawyer(s)... I don't think you need to be a cop to lay a charge against an individual or entity with the courts? I suspect a shit hot lawyer would be the best case scenario to do this though... Willful destruction of private property, trespassing & the potential for a theft charges come to mind?
Criminal = punishment/rehabilitation Civil = restitution for damages Criminal charges allege crimes made against law which is established by legislature and the people. Since the government represents the people only a duly sworn government authority like a district attorney or general attorney can file and pursue criminal charges, individuals with or without lawyers cannot. That’s why criminal cases are always “the city/state of X v. the alleged offender”. An individual can seek charges or recommend against them (for lower level crimes or certain sole witness situations) but either choice is ultimately reserved for a sworn attorney to decide. Even an individual with damages has no say and virtually nothing to do with the criminal process beyond being a witness and to collect any restitutions.
Never expect an apology when something big happens, where you can be sued or face criminal charges. An apology in the eyes of the law is an admission of guilt.
It's Alabama. The south is like a third world country. Most of the states in the south have a standard of living on par with developing African countries.
@@thatperformer3879 yeah. The standard of living is much higher in cities than in rural areas. The greater density allows for greater access to goods and services. Less money spent on gasoline too.
"No malicious intent" the fact that they demolished it, realized the mistake and fucked off without telling anyone is malicious. 🤷♀
'Leaving the scene of a crime' comes to mind.
That will be the part that will bite them in the ass in court…
That's not what malicious means. I'm not defending the company, they should have to pay the estimated value of the home pre-destruction plus a whole lot more.
But malicious means when you do something with the intent to do harm. It's like the company mistook the house for another house they were supposed to demolish, or got the wrong information some how. If this is the case then it would not be malicious intent.
@Splint Meow That's not what malicious means though. You can't maliciously try to cover a mistake up. Because malicious means intending to do harm. If it's a mistake, it's not intended.
The word just doesn't mean what you think it means .
Purposefully trying to hide it isn't malicious either, because trying to hide a mistake would be more like malfeasance, because the intent wasn't to do harm, but it was intentionally trying to avoid legal liability.
Which is not the same.
The fact that someone can COMPLETELY demolish your house and the city won't do anything about it is insane and disgusting. That entire city board needs investigating by a 3rd party, there's major corruption going on.
True! How many times do police ransack the wrong house and the victim receives no compensation? It’s sick the police state we live in.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the city was behind it all.
100 percent facts. That city is corrupt like baltimore.
I’m betting the city wants the property. With no structure, imminent domain is a lot easier to push through
SOMEONE had to issue a Demolition permit.
Don't be surprised that when you go to file suit you find that the company no longer exists. They will most likely open up business under a new name.
That's when you hire the A Team to go to the company owners house and demolish his in return.
@@the1knifepro169 👍👍
@@Thunderbyrd. That’s revenge, not compensation. Always seek compensation first… THEN revenge… maybe really fine (microscopic) print accepting demo of his residence after final payment to victim 😀
You can still go after the owner, especially since he already admitted guilt to the police. At this point it'll just be a matter of deciding damages
@@nk-dw2hm Getting an award is the easy part. Collecting is the hard part.
*If you cannot easily SUE someone for "accidentally" demolishing your house, we are truly in a messed up world. I pray she sues and gets more than it was worth* a
better yet, I hope they get the house rebuilt. that would be the the only way out for the construction company in question, although making sure they are at the right place is also a good idea.
no need to highlight your comment
You can easily sue for anything, at any time. This is America!
But, lawsuits are expensive and you don't always win.
Worse yet, sometimes when you win the defendant has no money so you get nothing but a large bill from your lawyer for your trouble
I think she can get the value of the house at the time of demolition and probably legal fees.
@@TheMr.George I would hope so. But, the law can be fickle.
You can bet whomever comes to her and tries to buy the property is the very bird behind getting the house torn down. Those mistakes don’t happen without a purpose behind them. If i were her I’d never sell it.
Agreed!
Somebody paid for the demo work....
So true
Other family members knew what company it was... You don't have to look far...
They steal property by acting like your buddy. Don't fall for it.
I'm curious as to who gave them authority to even demolish the home. Somebody paid for it. You don't demolish a home with out showing home and property ownership.
Exactly. I would bet a city official is on the take!!!!!
@@dennislarsson1723 obviously the next video on "It's a Southern Thang". This appears to be a rural area bayou backwoods boys operation. We'd LOVE to catch someone "on the Take". The problem here is just complete stupidity, and it appears to cover more than the wrecking company.
Have you evr lived down there? they have their own "customs"
@NORA, THATS WHAT I SAID
The Jerky Boyz had a prank where an ex-husband called a demo co. and wanted his ex-wifes house demolished...very funny.
When you accidently kill someone, it's called "involuntary manslaughter". There is no "malicious intent". Its still against the law. Whoever made the mistake should be charged.
No way, demolishing is work too, and they provided that service for free, she owes them.
You really think accidental property destruction is a crime?
I don't know US law, but I still doubt it is. In my country it isn't (accept in cases of accidental 'arson'). Otherwise any car accident would be a crime.
Comparing property damage which can be fully repaired with civil compensation and damage to human life is a bit questionable.
And like you said it is called "involuntary manslaughter", so there is a law that explicitly calls it so.
Unless there is a law called "involuntary property destruction", it probably isn't a crime.
@@Temo990 if accidental "arson" is a crime, then you just proved my point. And with most car crashes, citations are in fact issued. Fines are paid. One (or more) parties are at fault. Negligent crime is still crime.
@@davealmighty9638 Yes, but only because in my country it is explicitly made a crime.
Other accidental property destructions are NOT crimes. One must concider that arson is very specific in the fact that fire can spread itself (and easily harm people or even whole cities), any other property destruction cannot.
It totaly depends on if the criminal code of your country/state punishes that.
I don't think that it is absolutly inherent (meaning obviously or naturally true) that accidental property destruction is a crime.
@@Temo990 how many hours do you work a week?
The law can be so useless sometimes. Clearly someone demolished that house without proper authorization and the police are just like "deal with it yourself, we have speeding tickets to write."
I suggest that this despicable action is a matter for the courts, not the police. Especially since the damage was done and the perpetrators long gone before the owner knew her property was destroyed.
The offhanded "explanation" that it was a *mistaken demolition* isn't possible.
You obviously do not understand the difference between civil and criminal law. Also, if you don’t live me the law, speak to your legislators. Legislators make the law not the police.
Extremely useless
@@user-peach408 a lot of people confuse civil and criminal law. Even in criminal acts. In California, the legislators made it part of actual law that one has to identify the actual driver in ticket cases (photo radar) in order that a person can receive a ticket. It inadvertently moved to cover car owners who may commit hit and run. They just have to claim someone else was driving, but they don't know who. On the various dashcam compilation channels, clips showing hit and runs will oftentimes claim 'nothing was done' by police (in spite of the cammer not getting an identifiable picture or video of the driver). However, the car's owner is identified, and thanks to the law, not the cops, the cammer can only pursue insurance (obviously civil cases). The lack of a criminal arrest is due to how the law was written.
And donuts to eat too.
"No malicious intent" when someone demolishes your house without your knowledge or permission? Really?!
"We can't prove malicious intent" would be the response.
What I would expect: The cops are also in bed financially with whoever did it, that wants to buy the property and develop it for something.
So what exactly was their intent? If they are so incompetent they can go and knock down anyone's house at any moment and it is not criminal. Do the police really get to decide someone's intent shouldn't they give the case to courts to decide that? Maybe the cops can decide that in any case of theft or harm or murder that there was no malicious intent. It doesn't make any sense to leave someone on their own to deal with this. The demolishers should have their licences withdrawn if they are so incompetent, they obviously pose a risk to other homeowners.
Probably a greedy developer trying to get the land and build another development.
Hired a demolition company for pennies on the dollar.
Best of luck to you woman. Do hope you have an honest lawyer representing you.
Very sad for the loss and memories of your grandparents home.
I bet the sheriffs office or the local police chief are trying to suck up to some local politician. Corruption like this in Canada is way worse.
Being stupid isn't necessarily a crime. e.g. grandparent hits the gas instead of the brake and runs into a storefront. grandma isn't going to jail. That's why civil court exists.
To not immediately reimburse her for the home is such an act of cruelty.
Not to contact her after realizing the mistake is even more cruel.
@@tryagain8003 Yes, you are right. It is.
Tweety Kid SOMEONE contacted that company and paid them to do it!
The longer their insurance waits the more this will cost them as a retired senior claim adj. I would tell them do it now and be generous a jury will crucify u.
Sad But no one was living in it
Took Family members weeks to let Her know .
A New House or Cash equivalent will take away a lot of Pain
What grounds does a Company have to just show up and decide to demolish someone's property without first securing the authorization in paperwork from the actual owner. I used to work for a demolition co. Before we were legally allowed to begin any work, we first had to clarify that the person wanting anything torn down was the rightful person who had say so over the said property. Then we had to obtain permits depending on the zoning or location plus call 811 to give us all clear to make sure we wouldn't disturb any gas, water, or berried power cables. To make a long story short... Someone had other plans and if I were her, I would sue the crap out of this company and furthermore I would not sell the property.
Right, Mr Ryan. There is alot of 'legaleze ' with property; land and buildings, etc. Along with said utilities. TRESPASSERS SHOT ON SIGHT, WITH DOUBLE BARREL 10 GAUGE, LOADED with rock salt.
That, whole area, her ' property ' is EVIDENCE.
She need to sue the county as well!!
A proper demo company would have removed all the debris and left the property in safe condition with hazardous areas fenced off.
Something very fishy here. Find a good lawyer. Discovery will show who hired the demo company. If it's not an honest address mixup, criminal charges are warranted.
It isn't even a real demolition.. looks like someone just knocked it over.
Demolition involved hauling away the rubble pile, watering trucks to control the dust etc.
"Next to the Fairgrounds"...sounds like there needed to be some expansion. A lot easier for them to get someone's land than a house. And there was malicious intent if they did it without the proper approval and paperwork, did not admit to their mistake, have never contacted the owner and offered her no compensation.
You're 100% correct. Another news report showed that the company did NOT have any permits for this demolition.
How can you demolish someone's property, say it's a mistake, and not apologize or anything to the owner of the property?
Pretty sure you’re likely to be correct on the expansion hypothesis…
My first thought. Someone wants the property for there own needs. Very likely financial.
"Hello, Bob's demolition"
"Hi I was needing to have my house torn down. It's the one house on the west side of town with the doors and windows and stuff. It's next to a tree."
"We'll get right on it!"
Most places, you have to get a PERMIT to demolish a structure. If they didn't have a permit, it might be criminal then.
Don't loose sight of the fact we're talking about Alabama here.
And what if they had a permit to demolish a house but we’re simply at the wrong address.
@@neilkurzman4907 that would be a crime, this is not based upon some detective's bad decision
@@neilkurzman4907 If at wrong address, then permit DID NOT APPLY, permit is
ONLY VALID at CORRECT ADDRESS. Anything less/different is ILLEGAL.
If they want to say OPPS! WRONG ADDRESS then county should be checking if they are doing EXACTLY what permit applied for said.
They are holding up the: “I’M SO STUPID” sign on the street corner for all passersby to see already!
@@bobabooey285
It’s only a crime if it refers to a specific statute in that state. It’s possible it’s a crime in many states. Just not this one.
To have committed a crime you must meet all of the criteria set forth in the law.
If someone trips over you and is injured, they can sue you for their injuries. If you can be proven that you intentionally trip them then it’s also criminal. But as they say you must be convicted by a jury of your peers.
So what evidence is available to the police to show it was intentional.
The father-in-law of a good friend of mine had a similar thing happen to him. Instead of demolishing an existing house, a contractor built a new house on some property he owned in Myrtle Beach, SC. The contractor built on his empty lot instead of the one down the street about half a mile. After the court case was settled, his father-in-law is now the owner of a new house, completely paid off.
I have a small issue with this… how can they built a house without your knowledge? It takes months to build a house. It is possible, but weird.
@@TheSiriusEnigma backwoods bayou boys. We have that going on around here in Canada in a rural area (lots of money,but contractors that all failed HS together). they do all kinds of builds without Code, permits, or paying attention. Many are illiterate. I had one guy I handled custom doors/windows for and he'd never give me an numbered address. Several times I dropped the very large orders off at the mirror image build down the block.
@@TheSiriusEnigma. The property was 350 miles away from his main address. He found out when he visited the beach and found the house about 3/4 finished. He had a lawyer do research and kept quiet until everything was done. The lawyer took care of working everything out. The only thing he paid, in the end, was the lawyer and the increased tax bill for the new home.
@@TheSiriusEnigma I work for people that buy million dollar houses they’ve never physically seen and maybe spend a week in them a year. Don’t under estimate people who have too much money and their ability to waste it.
@@larrykeenan598 then he had a lot of money and a very good lawyer. Maximizing the damage value before suing is frown upon by the court system.
“No malicious intent” unreal.. Must have been a real short “investigation”. Seems like they jumped to that conclusion awfully quickly. I’d also have the lawyer look into any potential ties or contracts with the township. This does NOT seem like just a “civil matter”
To be fair, being stupid isn't necessarily a crime. e.g. grandparent hits the gas instead of the brake and runs into a storefront. grandma isn't going to jail. Unless there's a history of negligence or corruption, it's a dumb ass mistake. That's why civil court exists. Playing devils advocate, should you get imprisoned (financially responsible, yes) for a typo or accidental miscommunication?
Edit: A reply for replies conflating issues. DUI is a crime. Hit and run is a crime. My example of elderly running into storefront is an accident. They should be financially responsible for damages, but jail time wouldn't happen if it was found to be a legit accident.
There are plenty of examples of stupidity or unknowingly doing dumb stuff that doesn't warrant criminal prosecution, which is different from civil cases. Not knowing all the details of this particular instance, there are legit scenarios where a company can be stupid and assumptions/mistakes are made along the communication of a company resulting disastrous consequences, but no one is going to jail. Stupidity isn't necessarily criminal, but they are financially responsible for their mistake...there's a difference, and why civil court exists.
@@emmakai2243 Remember that cartoon where the guy standing next to the wrecking ball says to the lady: 'you're correct, we do have the wrong house". !! Still, do the right thing.
@@emmakai2243 A vehicle operation error is nothing like a home demolition. It takes a lot of effort, equipment, and a moderate amount of money to demolish a structure. It seems more likely to be some kind of real estate scam.
@@Mavrik9000 Again just because it was a paper work error or just them being stupid doesn't = Malicious.
that's why we have civil court, she can sue them. And attempt to reclaim the value of the home, will she win more then likely seeing as the owner admitted to it being a mistake. And best guess will settle out of court to avoid extra cost with that.
Agreed.
I’ll guarantee that there’s a lot more to that story than is being told. Who paid to have the house demolished?Wrong house? What house was scheduled for demo? Was anyone living there ?
its next to a fair ground. Thats your answer
@@AzguardMike
How is that the answer?
@@stanleyhape8427- I expect the Fairground(local government) wanted the land for future plans. Maybe ?
How can you “accidentally” tear down a house? In my state you have to have a lot of paperwork submitted before you can start. I agree with other people on this thread, somebody wants that property, probably cheap, and if I were her, out of spite, never sell. You can’t have anything anymore without someone trying to take it from you. There’s something more going on here….
It's pretty simple... you just show up at the wrong address.
dont they confirm that they are at the right location *before* destroying it
@@indeepjable No, they don't. Check youtube, dozens of videos of different houses getting demolished by mistake because they go to the wrong address. The one video, the guy was inside taking a shower when a bulldozer started knocking his house down.
in all honesty that should be very lawsuit worthy, and new regulation should be made for it
Get an estimate for the property and demand five times that if anyone wants it.
Most people who drink and drive also have 0 malicious intent yet still get arrested for making a HUGE mistake🤦
Top comment
It's called criminal negligence just like destroying her property
Choosing to drive drunk is considered intentional disregard for the law and public safety.
Taking alcohol is a deliberate act, not so much a huge mistake
Yeah. But that is a victimless crime. All victimless crimes fall under the preview of the police and always persecuted for revenue. How they going to make money here.
Get a really great lawyer. Sue the hell out of them. They probably stole everything they could...like appliances, copper wiring, memories, and took the house away from the owners. That is STEALING. I am looking for Prison sentences to come out of this and the business license of that company to be taken away and a big cash settlement for this woman.
Great lawyers just longing for "The Case of the Sixty Year Old Mobile Home" accidentally torn down rat trap.
Couldn't they file for bankruptcy to avoid paying a settlement?
@@jamespetersen9890 not a mobile home
@@RockyJayyy the company should have insurance.
@@richardgrier8968 oh yeah I forgot about insurance
Maybe it WAS a mistake, but not notifying her when they knew WAS proof of malicious intent. I hope she bankrupts those people, and literally takes their home so they can feel what it's like.
"Sorry, wrong house, live with it". Sounds like police when they raid wrong houses. Is there no one who takes responsibilities for their actions any more? I feel so sorry for this woman. So much lost that can never be recovered and not even an apology. Disgusting
The police are there to protect businesses from you, never to protect you from businesses.
@@johnturknett8186 It sure seems like it.
Problem is some people hang on to things to long , then when this happens they cry about it,,
@@wilson42cc Dude they can't just go around knocking down peoples houses regardless if they arnt living there. This ain't China
@@JohnSmith-fq7hj
Well of course, but in Australia we have laws , if you don’t pay rates , you lose your house ,,it goes back to local authorities to sell ,,I think 5 years of unpaid rates or as you probably know it , taxes, .
So basically you never own anything lol 😂,
Yes they should not have pulled down her house ,
But it seems that people can do anything these days and get away with it,,
Personally I think you’re better off having the money don’t leave things sit ,,
Imagine some company just mistakenly destroyed house of the mayor, governor or some big judge and the justice system claimed there was no malicious intent there.
It's not up to the police to judge intent either... Sounds like somone was paid off
@@dillonventola408 yeah but I think we both know there’s two tiers of “justice” in this country and it sure as hell wouldn’t have taken a year to figure out if the hypothetical was actual.
Reminds me of the fact that some local government somewhere wasn't doing anything about the catalytic converter thefts until one of the politicians had theirs stolen.
@@senorsquirts Actually, he had eight of his cat converters stolen: ua-cam.com/video/tZznO9KT-rw/v-deo.html
🎯🎯🎯
You know they realized they had the wrong house and then just kept quiet. That in and of itself is a crime... worse than hit and run.
How in the ever loving hell is it worse than a hit and run?! You value property over a human life? My dad was a victim of a hit and run. If you asked me what id rather have hit by a vehicle the house or my dad I'd rather have the house smashed! What a shallow person you are!
They also did not have a permit to do any demolitions during the timeframe that this house was demolished. It was absolutely malicious intent.
Demolish and hide
Update: She sued the construction company, Greg Landry Construction, in 2022. I have found no mention of a settlement, but it could have been settled out of court.
Thanks!
One would think that a work order to demolish a house would be confirmed thoroughly by all involved. So sad.
Not every city/county has to file a permit for construction or demo.
Also as they stated, they company demoed the wrong house. Soneven if they filed, the addresses would not match.
@@ericwilliams1659 A "work order" or contract for hire (or govt. permit) whatever written agreement/authorization I’d also expect extreme care.
I work in Germany as geologist in construction site analytics (if you can call it that way), and it happend, that we got the contract of analysing a property, while the ownership is not clear. Technically they have to agree in the contract, that the ownership is clear, but well, it still happend.
@@pikkozoikum8523 Prudent as contract puts liability on client/owner (alleged owner). Here demo contractor either went to wrong address or (similarly) client gave him it.
I'd hate to pay that company's liability insurance. Seems like everything should be in writing ACCOMPANIED BY PHOTOS to protect both parties. This must have been a big shock to both parties. Would love to hear "the rest of the story" when it reaches its conclusion.
The company demod the house. BUT WHO TOLD AND PAYED THEM TO DO IT, SHOULD BE THE REAL QUESTION.
Follow the $$$
@@MT-if1jr she can,
But us in the comments would like to know the whole story.
The company said they demolished the house by accident. That would mean they weren’t paid for it.
@@SeanPat1001 No, it means they got the address wrong. They were paid to demolish a different house.
@@bujmoose3992 Correct. So finding out who paid for it tells us nothing. There’s no point in following the money because it would go back to the people who wanted a different house demolished.
If it was a mistake then what building/house were they supposed to demolish and how far was it from this house? Something is definitely off...
Exactly! This isn't everyday run of the mil type of error/mistake that happens all the time like delivering food to the wrong house or something.
Maybe not so accidental.
Property was valuable to a developer, perhaps?
Now an empty lot so cheaper?
@@railroad9000 the people who demolished the house did not own the property! They had no right to do what they did!
Now remember, no malicious intent. 😆
You believe that don't you?
they said she lives and works some other town, sound like house was empty to me
It became malicious when they didn't attempt to notify her of the mistake. The person in charge of the crew that demolished the home should be criminally responsible as well as the owners of the company on top of being financially responsible. I can't total someones car an then leave the scene without repercussions. This isn't any different.
Sorry but saying "It was a mistake" as a company that demolished an entire house just doesn't cut it nor should it ever.
In fact that the company just thinks just saying that is enough is beyond me.
This should absolutely be won in civil court in favor of the family and they should receive not just the value of the property but way more than that.
This is just unacceptable under any circumstances.
unfortunately the company will then file for bankruptcy
I'd own that company. Claiming bankruptcy will not wash. This was illegal on so many levels.
@@haveraygunwilltravel unfortunately in the end they will get away with it
@@haveraygunwilltravel What you think is or should be illegal... often isn't. And vice versa. And incredibly often with good reason too. There is such a thing as a perverse impulse or effect. If it becomes illegal to make a mistake, you might think nobody will make mistakes. Sure, that might happen - when pigs fly. What actually will happen is that people now have a good incentive to add a few real crimes on top, like coercing the wrong owner or forging paperwork.
It's not in the interest of society to legislate against mistakes. It *is* in the interest of society to have a process for *resolving* mistakes.
the house was a fucking dump. easy to make that mistake when its already a crumbling piece of shit.
leaving the debris is a crime in and of itself---a contractor has to clean up all debris and haul it to a licensed facility for disposal
I used to believe that was true.
Most of my life in construction it was true. My bosses never got paid for a job until the job site was cleared of all debris.
Then I moved south....
I was a landscaper. Once I moved south any jobsite I went to was covered in debris. Often more than a foot deep close to the buildings.
Evidently, down here, you get paid no matter how much trash you leave behind.
That's simply not true in many cases removing debris is not part of the job.
@@redtra236 in my city of you get a permit for a demo the inspector will absolutely check that the material was taken to the city landfill and the dump fees paid
@@redtra236 Depends on the laws in the state. For the Worker it's a health and safety issue. Some states don't give a damn about that sort of issue.
Just sayin'....
@@rittherugger160 Exactly it depends on the work order, local/state laws, etc. If the work order is for demolition only the people who demolish the structure might not be the ones that are cleaning it up.
In this day and age with technology at our fingertips, there's no excuse for accidentally a demolishing the wrong house. What about the connected utilities? And they left the debris behind, which tells me an awful lot about this whole situation.
Someone wants the property and nobody is willing to sell so somebody needs to go to jail for demolishing their house.
I doubt it was a mistake, if it had been a mistake they would be having to still demolish a home somewhere due to not having done it when they demolished this one.
@@biff322 And it took them over a month to figure it out? The home they were supposed to tear down is still standing and no one has noticed? The owner of the home that was supposed to be demolished a month earlier hasn't been by to check the property or ensure the job was completed? You are either naïve or intentionally ignoring the facts.
@@biff322 because they can just go and tear down any place by just using google maps ain't it? I don't know about where you live but from what I have dealt with, demolition companies will need permits and have ground and area plans before demolition and if they do shit without it, you know they have a massive lawsuit coming for trespass along with whatever else.
There is zero justifiable reason why they wouldn't know where the place is and what the exact area plan and property limits are. Very clearly a "mistake" that was likely intentional
@@biff322 The Start of the video the reporter in the news room states "From a story we first brought to you last month"
Small town-behind closed doors-back room-politics.
And I agree, a company can’t say, “Oppps, we didn’t mean it” and skip away. Malicious intent has nothing to do with it! The gall to say that to this lovely woman!
Put this company’s feet to the fire and they’ll spill the beans.
We call it small town country syndrome here down under.
This is very shady to say the least. I am in new construction, we have torn down houses to replace with another on private lots. Never have we ever torn down a home without express consent of all owner(s). With that, all owners must sign a contract, signatures are notarized, that way we are protected and there is no mistaking anything or overlooking a part owner. As well, Ive never been involved in a demo job where debris like in this video is left behind. We comply with our state and local codes, set up silt/dust fences, this is a dangerous maybe toxic, (possible some asbestos), mess left here. Seems someone might have had a beef with the landowner going on here. Someone hired the job out, but still no reputable co., would proceed to demo a house w/o express verbal and written permission from all the owners.
The Government pays them to get rid of empty homes. They want to increase property values and therefore taxes. That is why they are not being charged. They work for the Government.
ya them not cleaning up is fishy
Yup, right there with you. Any demo i was on and it was 15 years worth, 90% of the time we hauled off the slab too. The pile of rubble in a high demand area and with no consent says we have dirty pelosi type politicians looking for a cheap land grab.
Made me wonder if they figured out they screwed up toward the end of the demo and ran.
The debris raised a huge red flag to me, I just didn't know exactly why until I read some comments like yours. I've never seen a demo-ed property with debris leftover like that. (I live in an older part of town that's not always well cared for, so there are several places along my commute to/from work that have been demolished for various reasons... every single one left clean af.) I also wondered if it wasn't standard practice, perhaps even required by law, to get express written consent from all owners... info which can and should be verified with official property records from the local government or whatever. I wonder if they didn't finish hauling off the debris in an effort to gtfo, hoping no one would see them?
I’m guessing city officials wanted the property and didn’t think anyone related to the original homeowners was still alive. This has to be approved somebody had to pay for it. Something stinks about this and its not poop on my shoe.
All they had to do was check with the PVA’s office to see who was paying the property taxes. There is NO EXCUSE. Oh it was malicious alright. It’s probably someone with the city or county and the cops are ABSOLUTELY NOT going to do their job and investigate this destruction of property. I hope they do some follow up stories and out who the person behind this is.
Since when does the lack of malicious intent matter? Many people get arrested for things they've done wrong accidentally, but with no malicious intent.
I agree. And tearing down the wrong property is at least criminal negligence or wanton destruction of property.
Was no mistake!
Not really. Criminal negligence or recklessness requires that someone be put in danger during the act. This is strictly property damage with not a soul around. It is absolutely a civil matter unless theft is involved.
Dizzys Doings - the police won't file for malicious intent when their brother owns the demolition company. Or a police officer is her ex-husband.
Plus how can the police know if intent was malicious? People lie.
What's pretty wild to me is that the company was hoping that nobody noticed them demolish the wrong house. They didn't contact the property owner, didn't leave a note or letter or even have someone stay behind to TRY to explain their "mistake" until witnesses linked them to the scene.
A small town I lived in Indiana when I was a kid the city was trying to improve it's image and decided to eminent domain and take over a bunch of neglected properties many with unpaid taxes just to get rid of the houses, overgrowth and trash and clean up the lots. They took a blitzkrieg approach and hired an out of town demolition company to come in there with several crews and tear a house down an hour and haul off all of the debris before anyone had time to file any injunctions. A crew got Oak Street mixed up with Oak Lane and tore down a rundown but occupied house and didn't realize their mistake until they saw all the newer furniture and appliances spilling out of it. Another crew got West Main Street mixed up with East Main Street and tore down a rundown but historic old Victorian house that was built by one of the founders of the town back in the 1830's and owned by the local historical society who were in the process of obtaining funds for it's restoration. That got some elected city officials in deep do do.
That's terrible.
thats absolute madness
doo doo not do do 193 werds spelt cowrecklee
When it's gov't it's just an Ooopsie.
That should have also gotten the contractors and workers in ‘deep doo doo’ - as in, in jail facing criminal charges.
When a company demolishes a building, don't they usually haul off the mess? Why is all the debris still there? Who even hired them? Too many unanswered questions watching this clip.
I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt that they figured out their mistake and left the pile of rubble because of reasons. I assume they did have an order to demolish A house and the crew chief screwed up the address. But, I'd find out everything I could about how this happened because it does sound like someone wants that lot.
usually they are burnt down "arson"
@@eddarby469 Possible, but if they were honest they would have come forward and let the owner know what happened. I would bet this was done intentionally, for whatever reason.
Who put in the work order? Did anyone put.in a work order. Need more info.
@@christinemalloy-brooks7540 That seems to be the whole problem. The locality is leaving this all up to her and her attorney to sort out. I find it offensive that someone can knock down her home and nobody at the county/town/city really cares.
She need to get info through the courts who hired them if the city is trying to get the land, or if a developer is trying to buy up property around there. Something's fishy like the city is in on it.
Knowing Mobile, I’d say fishy is an understatement. I can smell the excrement from here.
She'll spend more in legal fees then the actual house is worth
@@fireboltaz and she will win and the company will pay legal fees and anything extra🤷
@@spankthemonkey3437 you have to have money to take someone to court. And I would presume she would need to come out of pocket a great deal to go through that process. I would also guess there would be a counter sue charge brought on her for all sorts of things
@@fireboltaz her case is strong and alot of lawyers would take her case free of charge at first or pro bono. The company cant sue her they are the ones who made the mistake. They can try but it will make a jury hate the company that much more and strengthen her case. You need to come down to the real world and think more logically🤷
I'm wondering why a company would destroy a house, (even if it was a mistake), and not clean up the site?
That's part of any demo job, clean everything up.
It's like they wanted to leave a mess to send a message. I'm with others here who say "someone" hired that company to do that and I suspect a government person or entity who knows the property will be very valuable in the future if "dah dah dah" happens, like a big housing development or Walmart are in the works
I'm sure they cleaned up the valuable parts, i.e. metals - copper, lead and aluminum, some types of brick, especially for period homes, et cetera. Not to mention the fact they probably broke in and ransacked the place they demolished it, I'd be checking the pawn shops for family heirlooms if I was her.
There's more to this story. Someone wanted that house gone without going through the rezoning process. Devil is in the details. I'd look at the city or county leadership to see if there are ties to that demo company.
Her family knew who took the house down. I'd be looking there first. 😉
@@booberry7555 Exactly! I'm shocked yours is the first comment I've seen mention the family. Though to be fair to them, they could've also been the ones to contact the owner to ask if she'd approved that first.
They cannot arrest them, because it wasn't malicious? They trespassed and destroyed a home. If you accidentally started the house on fire after trespassing, would you not be charged? This sounds like high level BS. Since when is maliciousness the standard for being charged?
Somebody needs to pay.
Ask James Comey that same question..
Malicious intent is the distinction between manslaughter and murder.
It wasn't a home, it was an empty house
Just for fun. Who trespassed? Prove it. The company owner is probably a desk guy & never goes to field, charge him? with what? Some employee that was told to take this hoe & smash that house, charge him? Prove who it was? That's why it's a civil matter.
@@ben6089 its still her family home
So when you go on vacation is your house not a home!🤔Should they come because you arent there and knock your home down
I guarantee they're looking to buy the property for a developer wanting to buy up that and more property around it
Next to the fairgrounds.. Makes sense
@@lmcg.... yep...the whole thing is suspect. There are some dirty hands working here.🤔
Definitely.
Yes
That would make sense. If money is involved, it makes sense. BUT..... never count out the possibility of complete and total incompetence and stupidity. Sadly that is MORE common than simple greed.
How do you "accidentally" demolish a house, all of the permits and paperwork and you don’t see a name or address and realize it’s the wrong house? "Mistakes" like this can’t be dismissed, I would fight that.
According to another news report, there were no city or county permits for this demolition. It was an illegal demolition through and through.
This was not a mistake.
This was done deliberately, for the property, because there are no other houses around. Everything is missing, and that is grand theft. They took everything and you can bet that if she gets a really great lawyer then they will find her things being sold. I hope that she can get money and even get her house rebuilt, although, it won't be the same of course.
Possibly someone in the family 🤔?
They probably salvaged anything of value before demolishing. Check their properties.
Funny the police came to a completely different conclusion. And they were actually there and spoke to everybody.
@@neilkurzman4907 And police are never wrong. Or crooked. /s
@@jackabug2475
Well why don’t you go over there and investigate the situation yourself. Instead of taking wild guesses and making unsubstantiated allegations.
You have absolutely no details to determine what happened.
WTH? How does a company make a mistake like that? How did the company even know about that house? Did they just ride around looking for a random house to demolish? Something smells to high heaven in Mobile,AL!
Yeah it can certainly happen.
I have been sent to a South address when it was supposed to be a North address.
Police kill people by going to the wrong address all the time.
We don't hear about it on the news because "ThE nEwS dOeSn'T wAnT uS To LoSe CoNfiDeNcE iN tHe PoLiCe."
Then THERE SHOULD BE some sort of "fail safe" mechanism or process to assure that mistakes like this aren't made. After all, it is someone's HOUSE, and NOT, oops, cut down the wrong tree, which someone did to me a few years ago.
@@timeforthinkers7418 Why should they bother, when the Cops have "Qualified Immunity," and this Contractor has "Plausible Deniability?"
Pure evil. Alabama is as corrupt as anyplace else in America.
The fact the demolition company tried to hide their mistake is reason enough for charges to be laid.
AT A BARE MINIMUM
Also, they didn't have a permit for the demolition.
They came forward when they saw the report about the property. They wouldn't have stepped forward if they were trying to hide from their mistake.
"They could not arrest them because there was no malicious intent.."
That's not at all how the law works. If I fall asleep at the wheel and kill someone I'm still getting criminally charged even though I didn't mean to do it.
Thats different.
@@medsuit1686 no its not.
@@spacemanx9595 what are you talking about, taking a life is not different to you then destroying a materialistic object? you need to start seeing somebody profesionally.
@@medsuit1686 change it to destroyed their property then. If I drive a car through someone’s living room, I’m probably going to be arrested.
Let me clue you in on a little fact about the police: they are not there to help you, the citizen. When my house got burglarized and I called the police, they watched the burglar run up the hill behind my house when they arrived. They got out of their cruiser and said to me in these exact words "I'm not walking up that hill" and then they told me they couldn't do anything to help me unless I had already filed a police report. What??? I just called the police and they came to the scene of the crime, and then told me I have to go file a report before they can help me?? After literally laying eyes on the criminal?
Now, if the bank is being robbed, do you think they will say that to the bank owner? No, they will expedite the process and get to the bank as fast as possible, and they will go in guns blazing if they even have to, and do everything they can to bring justice to the criminal robber. Which goes to show you what I've said at the beginning of this comment: the police are not there to help the citizens, but as a matter of FACT they only exist to protect the banking cartel. And they will give you this spiel about how "I was just doing my job", which is funny, because that's exactly what people guilty of committing genocides always say.
No malicious intent my Aunt Fanny. As soon as they realized their mistake, halted the demolition part way through the job, (evidenced by the fact that they didn’t remove all the debris) and never contacted the legal owner to take responsibility for what they had done; that is about as malicious as it gets. Let me ask you if this same company went and picked up a load of material that was not theirs and upon realizing their mistake never returned the material nor made any move to pay for it would they not be guilty of theft?
Well you see the thing about that is, unless you're a company you're vermin and treated as such in the USA. Meaning that since they're a company they likely WOULDN'T be charged with any sort of theft, but if YOU a private citizen did it then yes you would in fact be sentenced to 20-50 years in jail for having the audacity to take that which isn't yours when you're not exploiting your fellow citizens already.
I mean what they did was was shady, but not malicious, they would have had to have had to knowingly destroy a house that they had no right to for it to be considered malicious. Leaving after realizing the mistake and not cleaning up after themselves isn't them intending to do harm. It's them trying to not get caught. But that still wouldn't be malice, that would be incompetence and criminal negligence.
@@cactusjackNV It wasn’t the crimes that I meant to equivocate but the mode of commission of the crimes. The idea of morphing from mistake into crime once you realize the mistake and attempt to invade taking proper responsibility for it. Admitting a mistake was made once cornered is not the same as seeking out the wronged party once the mistake is realized. I heard absolutely no indication that had they not been observed during the demolition that they would have ever taken responsibility.
@@cactusjackNV Covering up something isn't intent to do harm. Legally it's not malicious intent when you cover up a mistake, because it's a mistake.
@@Poshriel They did so knowingly
There's an address on the side of every house.
5 bucks says the compant has ties to the fair grounds..sounds like somebody wants her property...I feel so bad for her.
If the fairgrounds wants the property, the fairgrounds can use eminent domain to get the property.
@@roberthudson1959 you're one of those people who just thinks it's so easy to snatch someone else's property out from under them.
@@KennyRider137 yea it’s called communism. Why do they need the property if they don’t live in it. Only politicians should be able to own more than 1 home. Oh and celebrities to. Oh and anyone who donates big money to the politicians.
I wonder why the Mobile police chose not make an arrest. Property destruction is a crime. That kinda stinks. If it's not a crime, why were they investigating in the first place?
It's no different than if someones brakes go out and they accidentally run thru your yard or house destroying stuff. No malicious intent. So it is just a civil case and not a crime. I still would like to know what the company did with all the old copper and appliances. If they took them with them then that is theft of property. Then it becomes a criminal case.
Cops can be bought like anywhere else.
At the very least they should be done for trespass.
@@roseharvey2664the only thing they can legally sue for is negligence and inverse condemnation. But most cities have a law in place to where the city is immune from liability in any case of negligence. A code officer must be on site to confirm the address and take pictures before a contractor begins demolition. That being the case, they can get money for suing for inverse condemnation but it won't be that much. I'm not sure if Mobile city has a immunity law against negligence but it's worth looking into.
I am so sorry this happened to her and her family…..and I hope she Sue’s the pants off everyone even remotely involved. This stinks to high heaven of corruption and shady dealings.
Another fine example of how useful our government, district attorneyss and law enforcement agencies are. I feel so bad for her this is ridiculous and a literal travesty of the failure of local government
She’s a smart women and ran this on the local news just to say it’s priceless. She will win one hell of a settlement from the insurance company.
It shouldn't come from the insurance company, it should come from the demolition company.
@@medexamtoolscom The insurance will go after the demolition company.
@@medexamtoolscom ..who has an insurance policy
The owner needs to sue for actual monetary damages PLUS punitive damages of 3 times actual damages because they REFUSED to take responsibility, forcing her to SUE them, plus court costs, plus any other expenses. Their refusal to apologize is another point in her favor.
"No malicious intent" I'd say so, "absolute stupidity and incompetence" fits more. I hope she sues them into bankruptcy or at least for the cost to completely and 100% rebuild the house.
Sad part is the company is probably already bankrupt.
No malicious intent?
Find that hard to believe.
They'll declare bankruptcy and she'll never see a penny what do you wanna bet.
If she's not found complicit in this demolition and as someone looking for a handout, the home will be rebuilt for the current cost of the market. And judging by the footprint of the home, she's probably eligible for $100,000 tops.
One thing that was not mentioned was whether or not this home was vacant, which based on the demolition team successfully accomplishing this unfettered leaves me to believe the home was derelict and more than likely a crack house.
@@fireboltaz or she simply was not living in the house at the time of demolition and wasn't renting it out, and the demo crew came in in between visiting periods, whether by luck or intent. Nothing about this gives any specific signs of it being a crack house.
anyone who lives in a place that has been in their family for generations knows how truly priceless such a place is. I hope this woman gets millions of dollars but it certainly wont be worth what she lost in sentimental value.
She will get what the fair market value was for the property + legal fees and additional clean up costs. The house was probably a dump since nobody was living there and it wasn't being rented out. Probably less than 100k.
Don't get greedy or you will get nothing... no house is priceless and this one is certainly not worth a couple million
How about replacement cost, plus the destruction of the negligent/incompetent/corrupt people who committed the destruction of private property.
L
@@joseph1150 lol She will get a lot more then that. Place could have been a dump, but civil lawsuits go beyond what a home was worth. She will walk away with at min 6 figures plus all the fees.
@@zack9912000 you ack like most companies have 6 figures just laying around😆
There's way more to this story! A demolition first of all would require a permit and pre-inspection, that also would encompass locating any possible utilities on the property. Also, an authentic demo company would have cleaned up the debris. I think they'll find a family member was involved in this, no doubt.
Likely it wasn't a family member likely it was a company, neighbor(neighbors landlord), or city/county/state behind it that wanted the land.
@@Me-Just_me We had a house torn down (granted, in Indiana). It was a two month process of permits, utility companies, inspections... I think you're right on. Someone wants the land. She probably won't get enough to rebuild and will have to sell.
@@raymondanderson8799 I think she should sue whoever allegedly did the demolition, keep the land, and ignore anyone who wants to buy it from her.
@@jwalster9412 Use the money to hire some thugs to break some kneecaps
I heard a similar story years ago where a demolition crew demolished and hauled away a house while the owner was a work. The driver explained, "Well, I used GPS!"
Gee I wonder if the police would have the same response if someone rolled in and demoed their police station!
If it wasn't malicious they'll let you go
the police dont care is the real answer, they just want to go home, have you ever had a car stolen, they dont care, in fact your in their way of whatever life their living, women cops will actually give you a dirty look because your mad that your car was stolen
I can't imagine how a company with the ability to destroy a house would be able to stay licensed by conducting business this way. If you think you're going to destroy a house as legitimate business, you'd think they would get a confirmation on that and speak to somebody onsite before doing such a thing. You don't just go to somebody's property and destroy shit on a phone call.
Should be required to rebuild the house and restitution.
Other commenters pointed out: They didn't come forward before, so how likely are they to take responsibility?
They're gonna be working under a new name by now.
So many things about this that do not make sense. [[ First,[[ No other houses around. Impossible to accidently demolish the wrong house. Second, Site does not show, any evidence of inside stuff....Fridge, stove, beds, nothing at all. Was the stuff taken out, before demolition????? [[ Third ]] From all the angles of the camera, of the property, the ground around the house is all level , and green. Two ways of demolishing a house that quick, bulldozer, or backhoe. Both of which would tear the ground up. Something smells bad.
Sounds like they robbed the place, and pushed the structure over to destroy the evidence to me. I'd be curious to know what was included in the construction, like copper and architectural pieces, as well as the prior contents. Mid century furniture/decor and some appliances go for big money these days. If built in the 60s, possibly antiques were there. Reselling vintage and antiques is a booming business. If you have opportunity and means, such as a backhoe, this would not be a difficult undertaking. I'd sue big if it was me.
Lmfao id tell the judge all my gold bars and picasso paintings were stolen.
you can see another building in the background at 1:10. Looks like a house. Far left side of the image
The house may have been vacant and the family was just keeping it for sentimental reasons after the grandparents died.
How do you accidentally demolish an entire building?. There are procedures & verifications which are designed to prevent exactly this type of "mistake". More likely is that there is ulterior motive - some person or entity wants that property for whatever reason.
Imagine coming home from a vacation and seeing your house, where you lived most of your life, demolished. My heart would be demolished, too!
@@TugIronChief No it wasn't? What right do you have to go around demolishing abandoned buildings in the first place?
@@TugIronChief Unoccupied =/= abandoned.
@@TugIronChief okay, but what does that have to do with saying that the house was "abandoned"?
@@TugIronChief ok, but have you accidentally tore down someones house and never told them untill they found it was you?
@UClimuoAqdi2FqD9xsXc7mhA *punches business owner in face* "oops, accidentally punched you in the face, I'm so clumsy. No harm done"
*Shoves to the ground*
"Oh, no, did I knock you down. Not intentional at all."
How os it not a criminal charge for a random company to demolish your home? So "ooopppss" applies? This is not a "mistake" this is a crime as the company should have verified the address!
Businesses get a pass. They are special people.
I wonder how close the "correct" structure was to this house. If it was nowhere near the house then a good attorney could probably push for malicious intent even though cops dismissed that angle.
Maybe someone wants to buy that land so they "accidentally" had the house removed.
@Kitty Cat the best system there is. I more worry about corruption. Too big to fail isn't capitalism.
Criminal Damage!
This needs to go federal since the officers cannot plead, "without malicious intent," on behalf of someone or some business plotting to destroy or acquire the land due to a possible lie. In other words saying it was a mistake doesn't grant your passage or safe harbor.
It literally does. If something is not malicious and there is no probable cause then there is no arrest. Especially with a company. You cannot arrest a corporation no matter how many rights they are given as citizens. This was negligence but not criminal negligence, thus a civil crime. There was no one in the residence and was not put in danger so unless the police have a direct reason to believe it was without a doubt purposeful they cannot complete an arrest. If you have ever called the police for anything this would be obvious. It is so hard to get them to remove someone from your home even. The cops get in trouble for messing up probable cause and when they do guilty criminals can have their cases thrown out due to the means of their arrest and the gathering of evidence not being just. This is what civil court exists for. An accident occurred and as such she will be able to get the company to pay her for her home as well as other traumas caused by the mistake. The company will not apologize as if they do they will have admitted fault and throw away their ability to defend themselves allowing her lawyers to set the amount of money with no negotiations. The will likely approach her to attempt to settle out of court so as to avoid the legal fees on both ends as well as to under cut her on what she could get in court since a case can take years and she currently needs the money so she can buy a new home.
@@johnnyperry1471 I laugh every time I see these law traps, "we made this law where when you apologize you give up all your rights". Gotta love law, nothing common sense in it, yet you are forced to play the game.
@@unclejim1528 It isn't exactly a law that does it though. An apology can be admitting fault depending on the wording. This is why corporate apologies always sound so disingenuous. If you say, "I am sorry for the thing I did." Then the other lawyer will use that and say, "They admitted that they in fact did it and that it was something bad." This is how lawyer defend and prosecute. Nothing in the law itself says that you can't apologize and a cop cannot arrest you for apologizing for a crime as it is not probable cause. It just ruined your court case. This has to do with judge and jury more than anything. At that point you are not dealing with the law but instead people opinions on your actions and how that relates to the already clear laws.
It doesn't seem to me to be any different than a burglary, you can't just break into a building and walk off with stuff, and then afterwards claim you thought it was abandoned right?
@@johnnyperry1471 You're right, admitting fault is admitting fault.
And it does make people/companies look like dooshes even though they can't.
This falls under civil law because the house is defined as property by deed. If their was malicious intent, for example a bitter former partner forged a signature on documents to have it demolished because of spite, then that is criminal intent for criminal law.
In this case I would suspect a form of negligence for not having the permits signed or notarized by the owner/ occupant. Or direction was given from a third party who was not authorized. This would require a thorough investigation into whether the Company skipped a few steps with permits to carry out demolition, or did they unintentionally arrive at the wrong address, or was a city official liable for their response on the necessary notarized documents.
Key issues: intent, negligence, and liability of the proprietor of the demolition business, and the notary officials. This is a civil case.
“Destruction of Property” is a Criminal Offense in most States. The cops probably know who was behind it. That is why they REFUSED to Investigate! It was probably a county official. Cops are not going to investigate them, no matter what they do.
seems pretty intentful to not contact the owner after realizing it was a mistake!
I would think the company remaining silent once they realized their mistake & hoping no one linked it back to them definitely qualifies as malicious. That alone will cost them in civil court. And, make no mistake, they knew before the job was completed because part of demolition is clean up. They literally knocked it down, said oh sh!t, then bolted.
this is the exact same thing I thought when watching this. fugged up shiz
if not malicious, than at least criminally negligent destruction of private property.
imagine if someone was in the house
@ShazGreenock. It's too bad that none of the neighbors questioned the company or called the family..
no, them remaining quiet is not admitting guilt -- admitting guilt would be incredibly stupid considering she plans on suing -- it doesn't sound nice but the company is doing the right thing by remaining quiet
Reality is she may not get a dime, the business that demolished the house can and probably will file bankruptcy, and she will not be able to file a lawsuit.
A demolition company would have to be insured, so at the very least they'd have the insurance company to go after
@@nk-dw2hm Even if they had insurance, but would still have to file a lawsuit with the demolition company, and with our lovely judicial system, as soon as someone cries bankruptcy, the lawsuit is completely stopped and cannot go further...the company can continue as a working company, making money as usual, but cannot be held liable, it will be in a bankruptcy court. Happens all the time, I have personally seen it happen to a innocent family after they spent $40,000.00 in legal fees just to be shut down by the crying of the " B " word.
@@icuinthelight an insurance company having to pay out due to damages caused by the company has nothing to do with other financial obligations that would be held up from bankruptcy
Contractors cannot just drive without DOT, license to operate, no permits or direct name(s) listed as business or board owners, no contractor ins... if company was without the above, then that does seem maliciously intent, due to side stepping every law. Curious if someone wanted that property for other development intent, if criss crossing all DEMO COMPANIES Tax returns, company connections/ownerships/family relations, etc... to any other odd possible connection points unexpected or unbeknownst will show a coincidence lurking in the shadows. I'm sure this is a very uncommon instance to have occured for "no other reason"...
No one/ no company can go and big bad wolf anyone's place then declare "No malicious intent". How is putting a piece of heavy machinery through ones home not of malicious intent?
Seems odd that anyone would take the liability of siding with the wringing party and declare "no malicious intent." Seems like what a County Official would possibly say if running cover for the wrongful party.
For Instance:
Even if this was an auto accident & another accidentally cause someone else to be severely impacted... claiming or saying "not of malicious intent", even if driver whom cause accident was following all laws - does not change the fact that it is fault of the initial in full control of actions & reaction that caused irreparable damage to another. For every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. ~ Isaac Newton
Be an adult and be accountable. Set an example for how people should be when they legit and accidentally do wrong.
@@GIAL.MC1R I'm also wondering if maybe someone tried to contact her in the past about the property and they were unable to find the owner, after a decent amount of time. Then they assumed whomever owned it was long dead so they could acquire the land through some abandoned property loophole or something.
I don't know the specific laws, but something like that also wouldn't surprise me.
Nothing illegal??? They took her home away and threw it in the dump.
The city must have ordered it done and someone's lying to protect someone else. All sounds fishy to me. Hope she sues all involved.
Who the hell ORDERED the house to be demolished? People don't just show up to an unknown address and just destroy/demolish a house out the blue, unless it's with malicious intent.
"Near a Fair Grounds" sounds like the Town/city might have wanted to buy the lot on the cheap. Now that there's no longer an heirloom on the premise....
Apparently a different house was ordered demolished and the demolishing company went to the wrong place.
@@molonlabe9602 If you believe that story, I have a lovely bridge in New York to sell you
"IT WAS A MISTAKE. SO IT WASN'T DONE WITH A MALICIOUS INTENT. SO YOU WON'T EVEN GET AN APOLOGY FROM US.
IF YOU WANNA WASTE MONEY SUING US, GO AHEAD. WE KNOW PEOPLE IN HIGH PLACES" - the company that demolished her home.
intent becomes malicious when you don't fess up right away.
They need to build the house back or be fined a million dollars.
Both
They need to build it, AND pay a million dollars.
$10,000,000
OMG, Alabama must be a great place to live. Destroy somebody else's stuff, say it was an accident and no responsibility! Fantastic! Police must have tons of free time not dealing with accidents!
No different than other states. Most state's will take private property and give it to a company. All in the name of increasing property taxes.
Without personally seeing the act in progress, the Police cannot arrest. They must go before a judge to swear a warrant. If the judge states that it is a civil matter and refuses a warrant, the Police can do nothing. It's not that they are being lazy. They can do nothing without the warrant. I've seen it many times. The Officers get blamed by the victim and the public for something they have no control over.
Sue them in Court for damages, plus Attorney Fees!
Most States, including Alabama, follow the "American Rule" where attorney fees cannot be recovered UNLESS it was agreed in advance in a contract by a party you've "done business" with.
Yeah and the city probably want her to pay property tax too.
Make sure the owners don't move assets/cash to relatives to avoid paying up.
Years ago a company started removing the asphalt driveway across the street. Suddenly the workers were setting the pieces back down and drove off. When the neighbor got home my Dad gave him the name that was on the truck. The neighbor tracked them down to a house a few blocks away where they were actually hired to work. This was pre-internet. The company later repaved the damaged area.
That's how it's supposed to work... I mean accept that you or your company has made a mistake and salvage what ever reputation you can by undoing your mistake as fast as possible...
Edit: of course doing that without being tracked down first.
There's more behind this ----someone ordered and paid for it.....the owner of the company will squeal the name once her lawyer starts turning the financial screws in order to save hmself from a huge judgement.
Nah they will just file bankruptcy then rebrand the business under a different name. They can even name their spouse or a relative as owner of the new business. She most likely won't get much of anything. If I was the police, I would keep an eye out for whoever is attempting to buy up property in that area.
I bet they thought it was an abandoned house, and they could just build a new house on the land and claim it as their own. There was definitely malicious intent.
Why did the company demolish the house.
Why is she waiting for the company to contact her???
I'm so sorry that this happened to you. I can't imagine going through something like that. Family homes are absolutely priceless. I'm sure to say that you are heartbroken is an understatement. I feel so sorry for what you and your family are going through. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
The lady in the news segment didn't post this. WKRG did. She likely will never see your kind well wishes, especially since most people don't use UA-cam 🤔😉 Although someone she knows may tell her it's here?
Great comment!
Amen! 🙏
Don't now what damages? How about they pay to REBUILD HER HOUSE? They screwed up, they fix it. She gets a new house. Period.
In this case, "damages" is the legal term for rebuilding the house.
I seriously hope that she owns that company by the time this is done.
Who would want a company with a reputation for tearing down the wrong house?
Someone wants your property, the next thing they do is offer you money and say take it or leave it, and would say the company that demolished it is not insured or no longer in service or blah blah blah.
"There was no malicious intent."
This sounds like absolute bullshit. So crimes are okay as long as you promise you didn't mean it? What a joke.
Peaceful protest vs riot.
Peaceful protest vs insurrection
Definitions change depending who is in control.
Depends on the crime though.
At least in my country (not the US) accidental destruction of property is not a crime (except in cases of arson), so that claim could indeed protect you. Accidental damage of property happens all the time with cars for example, that isn't a crime here (again maybe it is in some US states, who knows).
Although if the company must require some sort of permits for demolishion, you could try to claim that they did know, but didn't care.
In contrast to that accidental injury of another person can be a crime (in my country).
Hillary wasn't prosecuted for breaking the law because of intent... it absolutely matters who is in control.
@@Temo990 well it is in the US
@@cactusjackNV you have no idea what you're talking about 👍🏽👏🏾
A MISTAKE!??!
We demolished your house, sorry about that it was a mistake.
WTF?! No attempt to make contact, no attempt to go through proper channels and make ammends? Thats the mistake i see here.
Thank you .... very well said, agree 100%. What kind of company could make this mistake?
Im not surprised the company that demolished the house didn’t apologize i mean they didnt even try to reach out to tell the owners they demolished the wrong house and definitely sue the crap out of them
They didn't apologize because they knew this would goto court and they didn't want to start the proceedings by admitting liability.
Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: the USA - where someone can simply come and demolish your house, because of "a mistake", and then drive off, without bothering anymore.
Freedom, whoohoo!
I used to work for a company that did a lot of demolition work. Before work started, we were required to meet on site with property owners and to have demo permits which clearly state the location, and the extent of work to be done. These permits are signed by property owners, demo company rep and code enforcement officers. Don't see how this kind of mistake would be made.
It's because you don't live in a libertarian state like she does. These people have listened to the nonsense that government is bad for so many decades that they cut corners all the time. Utah is not much different. Libertarianism is nothing more than right wing anarchism.
That is sad. I know how devastating it can be to have your home destroyed. A hurricane destroyed my home. Like her, it was all the lost family items that cannot be replaced that upset me.
That's devastating, I'm so sorry you had to endure that. I can imagine the pain doesn't ever fully go away.
The house was next to the fairgrounds. I have watched enough Scooby-Doo to know that it was probably the caretaker of the fairgrounds, hiding under a mask... just set a trap for the zombie, ghost, pirate, or alien, unmask old Mr. Withersbe and sue him directly. Save the taxpayers some money, police don't work for Scooby Snacks.
Not sure how it works in that state, but just because Andy & Barney won't lay charges on the company's owners doesn't mean charges can't be laid through the homeowner's lawyer(s)... I don't think you need to be a cop to lay a charge against an individual or entity with the courts? I suspect a shit hot lawyer would be the best case scenario to do this though... Willful destruction of private property, trespassing & the potential for a theft charges come to mind?
Opie the lawyer?
Criminal = punishment/rehabilitation
Civil = restitution for damages
Criminal charges allege crimes made against law which is established by legislature and the people. Since the government represents the people only a duly sworn government authority like a district attorney or general attorney can file and pursue criminal charges, individuals with or without lawyers cannot. That’s why criminal cases are always “the city/state of X v. the alleged offender”. An individual can seek charges or recommend against them (for lower level crimes or certain sole witness situations) but either choice is ultimately reserved for a sworn attorney to decide. Even an individual with damages has no say and virtually nothing to do with the criminal process beyond being a witness and to collect any restitutions.
Never expect an apology when something big happens, where you can be sued or face criminal charges. An apology in the eyes of the law is an admission of guilt.
The demolition company owes her a new house of comparable size and quality.
Yes… and everything in it, and for loss of use.
THAT POOR BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IS A TEACHER TOO? HOW TERRIBLE FOR HER TO LOOSE AN ENTIRE PART OF HER LIFE AND IDENTITY IN THIS INCIDENT
How does that happen? How does a house get “accidentally” demolished?! So sad. I hope the lady gets a decent settlement.
It's Alabama. The south is like a third world country. Most of the states in the south have a standard of living on par with developing African countries.
The only reasonable explanation would be wrong address. But again, this is the south and their reputation for being stupid was earned.
@@jdanon203 Have you seen Democrat cities?
@@thatperformer3879 yeah. The standard of living is much higher in cities than in rural areas. The greater density allows for greater access to goods and services. Less money spent on gasoline too.
@@GoingtoHecq when you have no idea what your spouting.