Three days after the disaster, the city sued the owners and managers of the building in the Housing Court due to a number of breaches in building regulations. Those named in the complaint included LG Properties, the company's president Philip Pappas, and George Koutroumos, the contractor who built the balcony. The city was reportedly seeking $500 per violation for each day the structure was in existence, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a court order for the replacement of the balcony. The apartment block was legally uninhabitable until the balconies were replaced, as they provided mandatory emergency exits. The city's Buildings Department inspected 42 other buildings owned or managed by Pappas and/or LG Properties for similar violations. The city also claimed that 21 other buildings owned by Pappas had similar problems. They did, however, note the fact that he had since made "dramatic improvements" to all 21 porches.