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Davenport building collapse: 2 wrongful death lawsuits filed by relatives of victims

Family members of Daniel Prien and Ryan Hitchcock have filed 44-page suits after both men were killed by the collapse at 324 Main St.

DAVENPORT, Iowa — Two additional wrongful death lawsuits have been filed in relation to the partial building collapse on May 28 in downtown Davenport, court documents show. 

Family members of Daniel Prien and Ryan Hitchcock have filed 44-page suits after both men were killed by the collapse at 324 Main St. Filed on Nov. 15. The new suits have already been consolidated with previous collapse-related lawsuits. 

RELATED: All seven lawsuits following Davenport collapse have been consolidated

Defendants in the lawsuit are consistent with those from previous collapse-related suits including: building owner Andrew Wold and his LLCs; Select Structural Engineering, Townsend Engineering and Bi-State Masonry, the firms who were hired to do masonry work on the building; Village Property Management, who was managing the property at the time of the collapse; former owner Waukee Investments; former property manager Parkwild Properties; and the City of Davenport. 

RELATED: Judge denies defendants' motions to dismiss in survivors' lawsuit

Prien's daughter, Nancy Frezza, and Hitchcock's uncle, Scott Morehart, are the respective administrators of the victims' estates and brought forward the suits.

Both lawsuits heavily detail structural concerns in the years leading up to the collapse, dating back to an Aug. 2020 inspection from the City of Davenport that noted "open mortar joints, spalling brick faces, and other masonry distress" on the building's west wall. 

Credit: Iowa Courts Online
The lawsuit included numerous photos that detailed the condition of the building's west wall in the years leading up to the collapse.

The near-identical suits go on to include numerous photos and alleged wrongdoings of the defendants that, according to the suit, led to the wrongful deaths of Hitchcock and Prien. Both suits contain eleven claims for relief and demand a trial by jury for all issues in relation to the lawsuits' claims. 

Find more of News 8's coverage of the collapse here.

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