DAVENPORT, Iowa — The man responsible for the LLC that owns The Davenport building that collapsed over Memorial Day weekend doesn't intend to appear at his rescheduled court hearing for Monday, according to a motion from Friday afternoon.
The motion is also for Andrew Wold's legal team to withdraw as his counsel. His legal team had been Alexander M. Johnson and Jack O'Brien.
According to court documents, under Iowa law, if a defendant does not appear in court, the court can rule against the defendant and in favor of the City, which is the plaintiff in this case.
The attorneys argue because Wold and his defense team do not plan to appear at the rescheduled hearing on Monday, June 12, the court can rule against Wold, according to court records. Because of this, the lawyers also argue they should be removed from the case.
As of Saturday morning, there is no confirmation from the court whether the judge has accepted this motion.
This comes after neither Wold nor his lawyers physically appeared in court on Friday. He was supposed to appear in court to pay a $300 citation for his failure to keep the building clean for its residents before the collapse occurred.
Judge Catherine Cartee called O'Brien over the phone and recorded the conversation for the official record, according to News 8's Joe McCoy, who was in the courtroom Friday morning. No cameras were allowed inside.
Wold pleaded "no contest," however, the judge denied it.
Judge Cartee told Wold's lawyer that he must plead guilty or not guilty.
The next court date for Wold is scheduled for Monday, June 12 at 8:30 a.m. But neither Wold nor his lawyer need to appear because they can withdraw his appearance and submit his plea in writing.
According to public court documents, the City of Davenport cited 19 violations of garbage overflowing from the dumpster back in March. These violations are from June 2022 to March 2023.
Wold was asked to appear in court on March 24, but did not show up, so the case moved to default judgment on March 27. Wold was asked to pay $4,500 plus court costs and remedy all violations by March 31.
Records indicate Wold has not paid the fine yet. News 8 reached out to the City of Davenport for comment. We have yet to hear back.
Watch more coverage of the collapse on News 8's YouTube channel