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Battle over tent house saga continues

By Jon Johnson
Assistant Editor
Published on Sunday, October 25, 2009 8:00 AM MST

In a ruling filed Wednesday, Arizona's Court of Appeals Division Two vacated Judge Pro Tempore Jerry Landau's May 30, 2008, judgment that allowed Safford to demolish the city's infamous tent house and denied its award of $33,005 in attorney's fees.

On Aug. 22, 2006, Safford Police, accompanied by then neighborhood officer Lauri Armstrong and representatives from Adult Protective Services, the Safford Planning and Zoning office and the Graham County Attorney's office, went to LaVonne Seale's residence at Colonial Village #4 to check on her and her cats' welfare.

According to police reports, they found Seale living in filthy conditions with cat feces and urine throughout, and damage to walls, ceilings and furniture. They also observed violations of Safford's building code, fire code, plumbing code, mechanical code and electrical code. Seale was removed from the property by Adult Protective Services, and police removed 57 cats, who were later deemed too sick and diseased to be adopted and were euthanized.

Safford Police Sgt. Jason Knight, left, and Captain Dennis Whisman emerge from the tent house after documenting the condition inside. The city demolished the residence in Oct. 2008. Photo by Jon Johnson

In October 2006, the city fumigated the house and placed the structure under a tent. Seale was allowed only minimal access to the home to retrieve her belongings from that time on.

In his Dec. 17, 2007, ruling, Judge Landau stated the home "presents a condition that is injurious to health, indecent, offensive to the senses and interferes with the comfort and enjoyment of life and property by an entire community neighborhood and considerable number of persons."

On May 30, 2008, Judge Landau's ruling granted the city the authority to demolish the residence, and the City Council unanimously voted to do so at its June 23, 2008, meeting. City employees razed the structure Oct. 2, 2008.

The Court of Appeals ruled the city did not grant Seale due process to make repairs that would make the residence safe or healthy.

"There is nothing in the record to suggest the city ever provided Seale with prior notice, a hearing or an opportunity to remedy the nuisance apparently caused by her failure to care properly for the number of cats on the property," the court wrote. "And at no point during the action did the city give Seale notice and an opportunity to remediate either the damage and waste left by the cats or the mold that subsequently took hold inside the building."

Seale's attorney, Jared O. Smith, told the Courier the city handled the situation incorrectly.

"The interests of the city of Safford were not well served by the trial attorney (Brad Keogh of Tucson), who obstructed earlier efforts to resolve the matter," Smith said.

He said he will assist Seale with making a claim for wrongful abatement and seek damages for the fair market value of the home.

Safford City Manager David Kincaid said the city is mulling over whether to file a motion for reconsideration with the court.

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Comments

29 comment(s)

you grow up wrote on Nov 5, 2009 4:59 PM:

" ok im awake now and I still say the same thing. THAT WAS NASTY "

Underdog wrote on Nov 3, 2009 10:38 AM:

" It seemed that they chose to bull dog her because she was alone and could not have alot of money. They violated due process and if they can do it to her then they can also do it to you. Wake up "

Actually wrote on Nov 1, 2009 6:07 PM:

" Dude the house was so trashed is wasnt' worth a nickel. She should have to pay the city for demolishing it. On the other hand, I think the city should pay her for the lot space, which is probably worth about $25-$35,000. Do you even realize how long some of her neighbors lived there before Seale moved in? Oh, by the way, some people did move away becaue it took the city two years to deal with the problem. That was before the tent covered it for two more years! Both parties are in the wrong. "

Deevy wrote on Oct 31, 2009 4:24 PM:

" I hope Ms. Seal recovers a nice sum to include, at a minimum, the value of her house adjusted to 2007 levels, as well as 150% in punitive damages. The city clearly infringed upon her right to live peacefully in her home with 57 cats. If her neighbors didn't like the smell, they could have moved. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no law saying that they had to live there. "

Hmmm.... wrote on Oct 29, 2009 7:41 PM:

" Maybe with all the money that Malloque, Green, and Kouts are saving by not having a full-time City Attorney they have put enough into the bank to pay off these lawsuits.

Seriously though, it appears that the City Leaders did not have adequate counsel back when they really needed it - a situation that should be resolved sooner rather than later. "

really wrote on Oct 29, 2009 6:20 PM:

" to bwana exortation? you may be king or queen in your own mind but you have no authority to exort beans. if you were truly as godly as you say then you would either be more positive and outgoing physically or youd just go to silence. nobody wants to listen to your egocentric bologna anyways so think about it. just kidding I know your so special "

Jon Johnson wrote on Oct 28, 2009 4:38 PM:

" Update:

Kincaid told the Courier the city will file a motion to reconsider with the appeals court. "

boffo the mayor wrote on Oct 28, 2009 2:17 PM:

" When he was sober, "... David Kincaid said the city is mulling over whether to file a motion for reconsideration with the court. "

Drop the waste of money, get the lady some help, and move on. end of topic.

How much would Safford save if they avoided lawsuits? "

Please Clarify Part 2 wrote on Oct 28, 2009 11:40 AM:

" It's me again, just wanting to thank Bwana for his clarification on a quote he didn't really mean. "

bwana wrote on Oct 28, 2009 10:16 AM:

" I always do what I can to help people in need. That is what I consider to be true Godliness.
If you cannot stand my exhortation to help your fellow man in their time of need, then the shame falls on you! "

Please Clarify wrote on Oct 28, 2009 6:58 AM:

" Hypocrisy....here's the deal, Bwana. I quote you from an entry on October 27: "I am not a church going man either, but if I were, I would have done what I could to enlist Christian aid and help with the project." So are you saying, my friend, that only Church-going people would or should be expected to help their neighbor? Since you are not Church-going, you are entitled to stand by and watch? "

not u thankfully wrote on Oct 27, 2009 8:27 PM:

" trying to fill a void bwana? "

look whos talking wrote on Oct 27, 2009 8:23 PM:

" yep your getting defensive bwana take a look in the mirror hypocrite "

Just Me wrote on Oct 27, 2009 3:47 PM:

" Ummm...YOU were the one that went off-topic, Bwana. "

bwana wrote on Oct 27, 2009 3:11 PM:

" Pretty darn ignorant and defensive responses from you people.

The only legitimate post relates that Ms. Seale refused attempts to help. Thank you for that, if true, I am glad to know there was some outreach! "

Jim Bean wrote on Oct 27, 2009 2:27 PM:

" Knew the city would loose. There were many other ways to proceed but recall at the time leadership at City Hall was full of their own hubris.

In this case, the wheels of justice are grinding slowly ... but that fine powder you're starting to see is the city's case. "

Just Me wrote on Oct 27, 2009 11:48 AM:

" Bwana, I am intrigued that you found a way to put religion down in a story that has nothing to do with religion. You must be dealing with some deeper issues. Sorry! "

2manycats wrote on Oct 27, 2009 11:33 AM:

" short of burning it down you will never ever ever ever get that smell out its horrible. cat urine is very acidic it eats or warps everything where are your responses bwana? tired of the limelight? u must have a handicap or you've been ostracized a lot and couldn't take the mental pressure. which is it "

To let you know wrote on Oct 27, 2009 11:32 AM:

" Just so you know, several attempts were made to help Seale clean up and restore her house. Unfortunately all of the good intentions were rebuffed by Seale herself. You can't help someone who won't let you help them. "

really man wrote on Oct 27, 2009 11:26 AM:

" bwana you do a lot of preaching but we dont see you really helping out the community 57 cats man thats ignorant. someone was just lookin for attention sound familiar bwana? "

bwana wrote on Oct 27, 2009 11:26 AM:

" It is not a one man job...It is something that a group of well intentioned citizens could have accomplished. I am not a church going man either, but if I were, I would have done what I could to enlist Christian aid and help with the project. If there is no humanitarianism in church, then it's a false religion.

I would be a very good mayor, but I am already very busy as the regional philosopher king. "

To bwana wrote on Oct 27, 2009 10:32 AM:

" Did you help clean up her house or offer to help in any way? You sure are putting the blame on a lot of other people, when I suspect you did nothing to help either. You have a lot of time to send comments to the Courier. You are always blaming someone for something. I have yet to see your name in any of the do gooder articles. Since you're so right all the time and you have so many good ideas why don't you run for mayor? "

PimaTwo wrote on Oct 27, 2009 7:48 AM:

" Once the city took over well you know the outcome. The city would not have let anyone in the dwelling even the owner was denied some access. Kinda like global warming. Only money will rectify some situations I guess.
Good luck to this lady in her legal battles. She's got alot of competion fighting with City HAll these days.
To City Hall : Just give her one of those vacant houses out on Hiway 70. It might be cheaper than going to court with her. "

bwana wrote on Oct 26, 2009 12:33 PM:

" I don't live in Safford, but it would have been nice if some of the local dogooders had banded together for the cause. It would have been a great opportunity for a large church to practice the second commandment that Jesus preached....Something along the lines of "love thy neighbor".
As for the germs...Once the place was tented and fumigated, it should have been ready for renovation.
Enough putting you on the spot; I know religious people are more inclined to preach it than to live it. "

some maybe dont want company wrote on Oct 26, 2009 11:24 AM:

" we have all heard of freedom of speech.......... and some feel freedom to lve like you choose............ we can offer to help but the cond. of this ladies home was one not everyone could've jumped in and helped with because health wise it could've made a lot of people literally sick... Cats carry a lot of germs anyway when they get sickly and people can not be around that. a lot of people did not know about this situation.Bawana did you go help ? "

may be no company wrote on Oct 26, 2009 10:37 AM:

" believe it or not there are some people that if you even offer to help clean up their homes will get real upset. They actually prefer to live this way.. I have been in homes of people that lived this way and two that you would swear they brought shovels of Dirt in and threw on Everything in the house.they did NOT want to change anything. My aunt in wash. lived this way married w/2 or 3 kids.took 30 to40 yrs. before she finally changed. Some folks feel its their home and maybe its their wayofsayingnocompany. "

bwana wrote on Oct 26, 2009 10:11 AM:

" Ah, yes, thank you for absolving yourself of any social responsibility....I'm so sure that's exactly what Jesus would say too.

On the other hand, sometimes people are just overwhelmed with the size of the job and just need a boost up....Sometimes people can get by with a little help from their friends. I doubt she belonged to the right clique anyway...Perhaps if her house had been declared a holy temple the locals would have gave a hoot. "

Poor folks wrote on Oct 26, 2009 7:55 AM:

" My parents used to say, "Poor folks have poor ways of staying poor", usually referring to themselves. Any word could be substituted for the word "poor". What I am saying is that it wouldn't matter if "good church members" organized and cleaned, etc. Eventually, this woman's house would have ended up in the same filthy condition. "

bwana wrote on Oct 25, 2009 7:31 PM:

" Good for her! I hope she wins a BIG settlement!
Being a Christian community and all, I would have expected some of the good church members to organize a remediation of the residence for the woman who lived there. From what I can tell, all she got was condemnation, and no compassion. The community of Godly persons should have acted as such and cleaned up her place for free. "

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