Scranton razes two blighted houses after lawsuit fails to block demolitions

SCRANTON — The city has demolished two blighted houses in South Side after the property owner lost a lawsuit to prevent the razings.

The city tore down the condemned homes at 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St. on Nov. 18, after the property owner, Dennis Smith, did not appeal a court ruling that paved the way for the demolitions, Assistant City Solicitor Mariclare Hayes said Monday.

The city for years has annually razed condemned, vacant houses that have fallen into disrepair. On Aug. 19, the city announced a round of upcoming demolitions of nine vacant, blighted properties, to be razed in late summer and early fall. That list included 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St.

Smith filed an emergency petition in Lackawanna County Court on Sept. 15 seeking a preliminary injunction prohibiting the city from razing the structures — a house fronting along Gibbons Street and a smaller house in the backyard at 524 Rear Gibbons St., along Hamm Court.
A blighted building sits on the corner of Hamm Ct. and Gibbons St. in South Scranton Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

According to the legal proceedings, the property became condemned in 2008; and after acquiring it in 2016, Smith began in 2018 making arrangements and repairs to the rental houses to get their condemnation status removed. That removal step never occurred and the buildings remained condemned.

In his Sept. 17 injunction lawsuit, Smith claimed the city did not give him notice of the impending demolitions and he only found out about it on Sept. 15, when his groundskeeper told him the city was placing cones around the property to demolish the two houses on Sept. 16. Formerly of Lake Ariel, Smith moved in October 2024 to South Webster Avenue in Scranton, but never updated his address with the city’s rental registration program, according to the legal proceedings.

After a hearing held Sept. 17 in the dispute, Lackawanna County Judge Michael Barrasse issued an order on Oct. 15 denying the preliminary injunction sought by Smith.

In not preventing the demolitions, the judge determined the following: Smith did not satisfy the legal elements required to prevail in the injunction; the city provided sufficient notice of the intent to demolish the property; Smith’s testimony at the Sept. 17 hearing was “speculative and unpersuasive”; he failed to demonstrate he could not be adequately compensated by money damages; and he was unlikely to prevail on the merits of the case.

After an appeal period expired without Smith having pursued an appeal, the city then demolished the structures, Hayes said.

Demolitions of 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St. cost $21,500 and $14,000, respectively, according to a document filed in the injunction suit.

Scranton demolished two condemned, blighted homes at 524 and 524...

Scranton demolished two condemned, blighted homes at 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St. on Nov. 18, 2024. The photo shows an excavator on the now-vacant lot at Hamm Court on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

Scranton demolished two condemned, blighted homes at 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St. on Nov. 18, 2024. The photo shows an excavator on the now-vacant lot along Hamm Court on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

Scranton demolished two condemned, blighted homes at 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St. on Nov. 18, 2024. The photo from the rear of the now-vacant at Hamm Court was taken on Monday, Nov. 24, 2025. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

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Meanwhile, on Sunday, Nov. 23, the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau posted on a utility pole in the 500 block of Gibbons Street a pair of public notices for unpaid property taxes for 2024 for the now-vacant lot of 524 Gibbons St. and a previously vacant lot next door at 526 Gibbons St., both owned by Smith. The notice for 524 Gibbons St. says $5,453 is owed in county, city and school taxes on that lot, and the notice for 526 Gibbons says $854 is owed on that parcel. The notices give Smith until July 1, 2026, to pay the tax claims or face tax sale proceedings on the lots.

Photo taken Nov. 24, 2025 shows a pair of public...

Photo taken Nov. 24, 2025 shows a pair of public notices posted Nov. 23, 2025 by the Lackawanna County Tax Claim Bureau on a utility pole in the 500 block of Gibbons Street, for unpaid property taxes for 2024 for a now-vacant lot of 524 Gibbons St. and a previously vacant lot next door at 526 Gibbons St. Scranton on Nov. 18 demolished two condemned, blighted homes at 524 and 524 Rear Gibbons St., along Hamm Court. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)

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Scranton razes two blighted houses after lawsuit fails to block demolitions

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