Tag Archives: writing

Occupied: Day 58 The Light at the end of the Tunnel

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I almost felt sorry for the Legal Aid lawyer. As she cross-examined me during our Jan. 5 eviction hearing, she asked about the feces found on the porch Dec. 5. (She did not ask about the feces found inside the house in October.)

“As I understand it the house is in a wilderness area. Would it not be possible that another animal could have deposited on the porch?”

“It’s a screened-in porch, ma’am.” I tried to keep my voice free of sarcasm.

Her face was a study in that moment. From behind her the guy I am trying to evict said, “It’s got a dog door.”

The lawyer made a quelling motion to him behind her back, but I couldn’t help myself. “The dog door is nailed shut.”

The lawyer blinked. I almost felt sorry for her.

He was evicted. Further, in an agreement our two lawyers cobbled together very quickly, he waived his right to an appeal in return for me not pursing monetary damages or a protective order.

Lest anyone think this “no money just go” deal is too soft on the guy, welcome to the joys of circuit court appeal. It cost me $1K to get a lawyer to run this eviction. It cost me $25 to file for the sheriff to attend the eviction on Jan. 16, assuming this guy stays that long. But circuit court would cost four times that, and we would do the whole thing again. In April or May, because that’s how far out it is to get on the circuit court docket. Meanwhile, he would continue living on my property.

My biggest fear was that he would be allowed to appeal without posting bond. In order to take a case from general to circuit court, you must pay a percentage of the costs that the general court found you liable for in the first place. But indigent people can request those be waived and appeal without costs. My attorney asked the judge not to waive them; the judge calculated what they would come to and he dude’s attorney said “Obviously he can’t pay that, which means you are limiting his rights to appeal.”

I will never know if this was part of his theatrical approach, or a moment of inspiration, but my attorney turned to me in a sudden movement. “Would you drop the protective order hearing and the costs if he waives appealing?”

“In a heartbeat,” I said without thinking. He rolled his eyes and turned back to the judge.

“I heard,” said the judge. Then he spoke to the Legal Aid lawyer. “Do you want to confer with your client?”

Ten minutes later, it was all over. So they tell me. At this point, I’ll believe it’s over when he is gone and the locks are changed.

But maybe, just maybe, this is the beginning of the ending of this all-too-common story about trying to evict someone? Time to start looking for the appropriate publisher.

Occupied: Day 53

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Happy New Year! It’s weird that a fresh new start on the calendar has no point in life to mark it as this saga drags on, but there we are.

I can’t talk about everything right now, and we go back to court on Monday. This should be for the final eviction hearing, but “final” is a small word in legal matters.

At the hearing Dec. 22 the legal aid lawyer had filed paperwork to spread the time out. It didn’t work as the judge shorted the times, but on Dec. 23 my lawyer was in another court in another county, and the legal aid lawyer at the eviction there had filed the exact same motions. And got six weeks to get the stuff and look it over.

Courts vary widely, which I found out after going to inspect my property Dec. 29. The judge had set the time for noon and allowed me to bring a plumber. We arrived at 11:45 and right from the getgo the guy was so aggressive, my plumber refused to get out of the car. He slumped in his seat, eyes wide as saucers, as the guy railed at him.

So that went badly and got worse, as after I had to enter the house by myself, that also went badly. I’m not often frightened. I’m no shrinking violet. But I wound up going back to my attorney’s office and bursting into tears. And seeking a protective order.

The preliminary order was denied. His threat to me was “conditional” because he had said “if you do that again,” then the threat.

Another woman was seeking a protective order, seated in the pew behind me at court. She whispered to me, during a break when the judge went to look something up, that by those standards her threat was also conditional. Her downstairs neighbor had said if she turned him in for smoking again, he would come at her with a baseball bat.

We squeezed hands, then he denied me, and called her up. I pray she got hers.

So now there is a hearing on a protective order set for the same time as the eviction. Life gets interesting, doesn’t it? I spent a night away from my house while getting some locks in order. The guy has sent two messages about coming to collect stuff from my house. Monday can’t come fast enough.