Leon attorney states arson accusations have delayed insurance

Published 3:46 pm Saturday, June 20, 2009

An attorney for Maria Leon, owner of the downtown buildings that have yet to be cleaned up after January’s fire, wrote in a court document that Austin police falsely accused Leon of arson, which has delayed insurance benefits.

Austin police and fire have been conducting an arson investigation but have not publicly named any suspects or given any further details on how the blaze started.

In the court document, filed Monday in Mower County, Leon’s attorney Douglas Nepp said the insurance holdup has kept Leon from cleaning up the property.

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The City Council on May 4 passed a resolution calling on Leon to clean up the site, which the city has deemed “hazardous,” within 30 days of being served a lawsuit. Court records indicate that lawsuit was served May 11 to Leon. Leon has not responded to the city’s calls, nor has she commented publicly. Her address is now listed in LeMars, Iowa. The two sides are scheduled to meet in Mower County court on June 23 for a hearing.