HarborView Towers has filed for chapter 11 protection, attorneys for the Council of Unit Owners at the waterfront property in Federal Hill said yesterday, the Baltimore Business Journal reported. The condo owners in the 30-story development at 100 HarborView Drive filed the petition in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on Wednesday, said Paul Sweeney, an attorney in Columbia that represents the council. One of the main reasons behind the Chapter 11 filing is judgments issued against HarborView Towers over the past couple of years stemming from a bitter legal battle by penthouse resident and developer James Ancel, who charged in a $5 million lawsuit filed in 2010 that water leaks in his unit led to mold growth and a threat to the health and safety of his family. In June 2012, Judge Evelyn Omega Cannon ruled that Ancel was due $1.2 million for the damage to his property. The judge also ordered the condo association to replace the roof system and make other repairs to the building. In a statement issued late Wednesday night, Council of Unit Owners President Reuben Mezrich cited the lawsuit and judgments as the reason for the chapter 11 filing.
