A consolidated group of plaintiffs alleges that landlord Andrew Wold is selling off his properties to avoid judgments in pending lawsuit against him.
The 143-page lawsuit, which was filed electronically Dec. 29 in Scott County, applies to “all consolidated action” in connection to the partial collapse of The Davenport, 324 Main. St., Davenport, on May 28, 2023.
Named as defendants are:
- Davenport Hotel, L.L.C. d/b/a the Hotel Davenport Apartments
- Andrew Wold, individually and as trustee for 3320 W. Harbor Revocable Trust
- Andrew Wold Investments, LLC
- Village Property Management, LLC
- Alliance Contracting, LLC
- Select Structural Engineering, LLC
- Bi-State Masonry, Inc.
- CT Engineering, Inc. d/b/a Townsend Engineering
- City of Davenport
- Waukee Investments I, LLC
- Parkwild Properties, L.C.
- Trishna R. Pradhan
- Richard E. Oswald
- Corrin Spiegel
- QC Rental Group, LLC
- Kyle Robinson
- Dorothea, L.L.C.
- 2200 11th LLC
- 246 W. 3rd Street Cooperative.
Through this case, documents show, “Plaintiffs seek to hold all those accountable for this avoidable event and to ensure that those who have wrongfully died, who have sustained personal, economic, and/or psychological injuries, and who have lost the use and value of the property, are fairly and fully compensated for their respective harms and losses.”
Additionally, “Plaintiffs also seek to punish, by way of punitive damages, those defendants who exhibited willful and wanton disregard for the safety of the tenants at The Davenport such that no preventable tragedy like this happens to anyone in Scott County ever again.”
The suit alleges that “some defendants refused to spend the money to keep the tenants safe, some refused to take action to ensure the building was properly maintained and habitable, and all refused to extend the minimum decency of warning the tenants that they were in danger.”
Wold created some companies “with the intent of insulating himself from liability and so that he could operate these sham corporations to his own financial benefit without personal risk,” the suit says. “Since the collapse, Andrew Wold has taken deliberate actions intended to further insulate himself and shield his companies and his personal assets from collection in his case.”
The suit accuses Wold of transferring his $1.9 million home in Bettendorf – “which is the business office for all of his sham corporations” – from his own name and into the name of 3320 W. Harbor Revocable Trust, “of which Andrew Wold is the trustee.”
The home was sold on Dec. 12 , 2023, to a real estate agent who is “the listing agent on all of Wold’s properties.”
Andrew Wold, individually, and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, are “debtors” as defined by the Iowa Voidable Transactions Act because they are each liable for Plaintiffs’ claims, according to the suit.
Under the Iowa Voidable Transactions Act, “a transfer is voidable as to a creditor if it was made under any of the following circumstances: a. With actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud a creditor; or b. Without receiving a reasonably equivalent value in exchange for the transfer if the debtor believed, or reasonably should have believed, that the debtor will incur debts beyond the debtor’s ability to pay as they become due,” the lawsuit shows.
The suit alleges that “Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, which is a mere alter-ego of Andrew Wold, sold the following seven properties, all to Defendant QC Rental Group LLC, for amounts substantially under their assessed values:”
The suit lists these properties, what they sold for and their assessment:
221 W. Pleasant St. in Davenport, a 2,618-square-foot two-family duplex, sold for $88,500 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $139,880, according to the suit.
2415 Farnam St., Davenport, a 1,460-square-foot two-family conversation, sold for $86,000 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $115,500.
2215 Jefferson Ave., Davenport, a 1,444-square-foot two-family conversion, sold for $90,000 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $123,590, according to the suit.
2224 Iowa St., Davenport, a 2,428-square-foot two-family conversion, sold for $85,000 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $131,700, according to the suit.
1440 Jersey Ridge in Davenport, a 2,624-square-foot two-family flat, sold for $30,000 as “vacant lot” on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $150,740, according to the suit.
1315 Belle Ave. in Davenport, a 2,374-square-foot two-family duplex, sold for $73,000 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $87,140, according to the suit.
1028 Harrison St., Davenport, a 2,611-square-foot single-family home, sold for $97,500 on Oct. 18, 2023. The gross value of the property was assessed in 2023 for $125,910. according to the suit.
“At the time of the transactions, Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, as well as Andrew Wold, individually, believed or reasonably should have believed that they will incur debts far beyond their abilities to pay as a result of their liabilities in this case,” the suit alleges, adding “Because Wold and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, did not receive reasonably equivalent value for the above seven real estate transactions, they are voidable by Plaintiffs.”
Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, and Andrew Wold, individually, “transferred these properties with the actual intent to hinder creditors, including Plaintiffs,” the suit says.
“The transfer of the seven properties occurred shortly after Wold and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC were sued in several lawsuits arising out of the partial collapse of The Davenport, which are collectively valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars – an amount far beyond that which Wold and Wold Investments, LLC could ever pay,” the suit claims.
The lawsuit says that, although Wold and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC still have some properties in their portfolios, “the sale of the seven properties … is part of an ongoing scheme to sell off all or substantially all of their assets. As described above, Wold and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC did not receive reasonably equivalent value for the transfer of the seven properties.”
Both Wold and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC are “insolvent” as defined under the Iowa Voidable Transactions Act because (1) the sum of their debts is greater than the sum of their assets; and (2) they have not been paying their debts as they become due, including payments due and owing for city licenses for The Davenport and other properties, the lawsuit claims.
The suit says that Wold failed to pay property taxes in the year before the collapse and took out an additional mortgage on his home. But the plaintiffs know that the purchaser of the seven properties listed above is a business that was established in September 2023 “for the sole purpose of buying these properties,” the suit alleges.
After the partial collapse of The Davenport “and after Wold and his sham companies were named in lawsuits collectively valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, Wold, by and through his sham companies, has placed a number of additional properties on the market,” the lawsuit alleges. Those include:
- The Roosevelt, at 307 W. 6th Street, Davenport, was placed on the market on Sept. 28, 2023. It is owned by Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, and is currently listed for $4,000,000 by Kyle Robinson.
- 217 Brady St., Davenport, was placed on the market on Oct. 13, 2023. It is owned by Andrew Wold Investments, LLC, and is currently listed for $895,000 by Kyle Robinson.
- The Dorothea, at 311 W. 3rd St., Davenport, was placed on the market on Oct. 12, 2023. It is nominally owned by Dorothea, L.L.C., “which is another sham company operating as the alter-ego of Andrew Wold,” the lawsuit alleges. “It shares the same home office as his other companies (3320 W. Harbor Drive in Bettendorf) and also uses the same PO Box as Davenport Hotel, L.L.C. and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC (PO Box 611 in Bettendorf). The Dorothea is currently listed for $1,875,000 by Kyle Robinson.
- 2200 E. 11th St., Davenport, was placed on the market on Nov. 5, 2023. “It is nominally owned by 2200 11th, LLC, which is another sham company operating as the alter-ego of Andrew Wold,” the suit alleges. “It shares the same home office as his other companies (3320 W. Harbor Drive in Bettendorf).” The property is currently listed for $375,000 by Kyle Robinson.
- 246 W. 3rd St., Davenport, was placed on the market on Sept. 27, 2023. It is nominally owned by 246 W. 3rd St. Cooperative, “which is another sham company operating as the alter-ego of Andrew Wold,”the suit alleges. “It shares the same PO Box as Davenport Hotel, L.L.C. and Andrew Wold Investments, LLC (PO Box 611 in Bettendorf).” The property is currently listed for $1,875,000 by Kyle Robinson.
The listings of these properties and their impending sales are done with the actual intent to hinder creditors, including the plaintiffs, the lawsuit claims, saying “The defendants are jointly and severally liable for all losses and harms.”
The plaintiffs demand a trial by jury, except “On all claims for equitable relief, no jury trial is requested.”
