Baltimore man receives $250,000 settlement after losing home to sinkhole

BALTIMORE -- Quentin Bell received a $250,000 settlement from Baltimore City two years after a 115-year-old storm drain collapsed and eventually took down his home.

In 2022, a sinkhole opened on North Avenue. Three homes including Bell's, had to be torn down.

People who lost their homes to the sinkhole told WJZ they were upset because the city would not compensate them for their losses.

Bell sued the city in 2022 for negligence.

In 2022, he told WJZ he was looking for Baltimore City to pay for the home he lost.  

"I don't have enough money to buy my kids Christmas gifts because I am still paying the mortgage on a property that's not there," Bell said.   

Bell claimed the city failed to inspect and maintain underground stormwater management facilities and that was unreasonable.  

On Wednesday, Baltimore's spending board approved the settlement.

Deputy City Solicitor Stephen Salisbury explained the decision to settle.  

"The legal question in this case was whether the city had notice of the storm drain's imminent collapse," Salisbury said. "We did not have any active notice, but the plaintiff would have alleged constructive notice. Ultimately, we felt that given the circumstances, there would have been risks in going forward."  

Mayor Brandon Scott says BOE's decision was a fair settlement.  

"No one could have predicted or changed, we know we have aging infrastructure," Scott said. "This is partly why we have an infrastructure office to figure out ways for us to pull down on those funds to fix infrastructure in Baltimore that needed to be fixed, quite frankly before I was born."

Under the terms of this settlement, the city now receives title to Bell's former property.