LISBON — Mark Courtney, who owns multiple rental units in Salem, filed a lawsuit against the city Tuesday challenging occupancy license applications, fees and inspection requirements, claiming they’re all unconstitutional.

Besides naming the city of Salem as a defendant, other defendants named in the complaint filed in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court included the city’s Director of Housing Office of Housing Inspection and city Housing Inspector Richard Snyder.

Plaintiffs were listed as Courtney, 1717 State Street LLC, C&C Rental Investments LLC, Wilson Street LLC care of CPM Agent Corporation and Lexington Rentals LLC care of Dennis Clunk statutory agent, all of Alliance, and Salem Cedar Ridge Apartments Ltd. of Salem.

The complaint focuses on a Salem city ordinance related to housing which was amended last year and includes a requirement for inspection of rental properties, the payment of a $35 fee for each occupancy license application and a fee of $72 per rental unit for each occupancy license.

“Salem unconstitutionally extracted funds from plaintiffs to perform unconstitutionally coerced inspections,” the lawsuit claimed.

Filed by attorneys David Barbee of Columbiana and Lawrence Stacey II of Lisbon, the complaint is seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief “prohibiting Salem from assessing and collecting the unlawful charges at issue and prosecuting those who do not register the rental properties or pay the unlawful charges at issue.”

The court was requested to declare Salem’s pre-occupancy inspection requirement, which the lawsuit claimed was “authorizing warrantless searches without probable cause,” as unconstitutional.

Also requested was a declaration that the monetary assessments constitute an unlawful tax and that Salem has been “unjustly enriched” by the fees for occupancy license applications and occupancy licenses.

The lawsuit seeks damages against the city for violation of the rights of the plaintiffs and to stop the city from enforcing the inspection requirements and levying the fees.

Salem Mayor Cyndi Baronzzi Dickey was contacted about the lawsuit, but could not comment since it’s pending litigation.

The case was assigned to Judge Megan Bickerton.