BATON ROUGE — The second tallest office building in the Baton Rouge skyline on Wednesday was sold for nearly $20 million to an investment firm that was suing the building's previous owners over defaulted mortgage payments.

Wilmington Trust National Association was the sole bidder at an East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office auction for One American Place on Main Street. The building, which was built in 1974 and renovated in 2003 was sold for $19,966,667.

The East Baton Rouge Clerk of Court’s Office in July seized One American Place following a lawsuit filed in June.

According to the suit, One American Place Operating LLC owed $24.2 million in principal, interest, late charges and other fees to Wilmington Trust. Court records show that the operating company also borrowed $31.5 million from JPMorgan Chase in August 2018, calling for monthly debt payments and a maturity date of Sept. 1, 2023.

The suit alleges the building's former owners did not pay the balance of the loan in time. 

The creditors' lawsuit is one of multiple suits filed against the building owners and operators, including one by a local law firm alleging a failure to repair a damage roof.