Judge sides with couple, not Pittsburgh, in Schenley Farms landslide case

An Allegheny County Common Pleas judge on Tuesday ordered Pittsburgh to pay $730,000 to the owners of a Schenley Farms home impacted by a landslide — far more than the city wanted.

Pittsburgh took the home, owned by Brian and Donna Albert, through eminent domain after the roadway on Andover Terrace started to pull away from the sidewalk and curb in March 2022. The historic community straddles the Hill District and Oakland.

The city didn’t want to pay the couple more than $350,000.

Judge Mary C. McGinley heard arguments Monday and issued her brief order roughly 24 hours later. McGinley did not include an opinion explaining her ruling.

McGinley ordered the city to make the payment within 30 days.

The next step for the Alberts will be to appear before the Allegheny County Board of Viewers in an attempt to recoup attorneys’ fees and other costs associated with the court fight.

Under the law, the board cannot set the value of compensation any lower than $730,000, according to the Alberts’ attorney, Joshua Lyons.

The litigation commenced after the city’s unsuccessful attempts to slow the landslide. By September 2023, the street level had sunk 20 feet.

At the Alberts’ property, walls started to pull away from each other.

The Alberts went to the Board of Viewers to determine the damages they were entitled to, but the city objected.

A Common Pleas Court judge ruled in the Alberts’ favor, as did the Commonwealth Court, finding that the city delayed stabilization efforts and failed to promptly seek funding for remediation.

The court also found that the city used “strong-arm tactics” to “attempt the bully the owners into granting” easements instead of compensating them through eminent domain.

On Monday, both sides appeared before McGinley to establish the “estimated just compensation” for the Alberts.

The couple bought the home at 4259 Andover Terrace in 2018 for $410,000 as an investment property.

During Monday’s hearing, Brian Albert testified that the couple spent about $150,000 in upgrades over the first three years they owned it.

“It was in great condition,” Albert testified at the hearing, adding later, “It was a wonderful house, beautiful.”

Initially, the city obtained an appraisal setting the value of the house at $730,000.

However, earlier this month, the city obtained another appraisal setting the value at $350,000.

That lower figure was based on the damage to the home caused by the landslide, as well as the stigma now attached to the house.

However, Lyons, the Alberts’ lawyer, argued that Pennsylvania’s eminent domain law prohibits including damage caused by a natural disaster in determining fair market value.