Members of the Little Rock Board of Directors at a meeting Tuesday evening approved a resolution authorizing a $175,000 settlement to end litigation against the city that was triggered by a 2016 fire inspection at a 64-unit apartment complex.
The resolution was approved via a voice vote along with other items after it was added to the city board's consent agenda.
Settlement funds will be paid out of a city account the resolution describes as "General Administration -- Fee, Judgement and Damage Claims." The litigation account of the city attorney's office will cover the costs of mediation, the resolution says.
The agreed-upon settlement amount was "substantially below" the $880,000 sum the plaintiff had sought, according to the resolution.
The parties recently completed mediation on May 4, according to court records.
The complaint filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court on behalf of A Baby Acre by Grid, LLC, on Oct. 31, 2018, named the city, the city's office of fire prevention, the fire marshal, the city manager and the chief deputy city attorney. The three latter parties were sued in their individual and official capacities.
A finding of life safety violations at the complex at 6320 Butler Road in Little Rock following a fire prevention code inspection led to the city ordering seven of the complex's nine buildings closed, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit alleged that in late December 2016, Little Rock instructed residents of 51 occupied units to vacate based on the fire inspection without notifying A Baby Acre by Grid. A total of 32 known residents were forced to move, the complaint said.
Records of the Arkansas secretary of state's office show A Baby Acre by Grid to be an LLC in good standing with its registered agent listed as Andrew Adkins.
Property records maintained by the Pulaski County assessor's office show the firm sold the 2.26-acre property at 6320 Butler Road in February 2018 for $980,000.