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9th District remands Barberton house squatter case
TRACEY BLAIR
Legal News Reporter
Published: February 20, 2015
A Barberton city official improperly allowed a deceased woman’s home to be demolished before allowing a potential heir to prove he had a right to the building, the 9th District Court of Appeals ruled recently.
Acting pro se, Sean and David Thomas appealed the judgment of a Summit County trial court awarding summary judgment to Barberton Building Commissioner Jim Bauschlinger.
In a 3-0 opinion, 9th District judges agreed the trial court erred by granting judgment to Bauschlinger on the basis of sovereign immunity and Sean Thomas’ lack of standing.
According to appellate court records:
Sean Thomas was living in a Lucas Street duplex that belonged to his mother, Ruth Kiefer, at the time of her death in 2009. Kiefer died intestate.
After his mother’s death, Sean Thomas lived in the lower apartment and leased the upper apartment to a friend.
While the friend was in the hospital, squatters moved into the upper apartment. After they left, Sean and his father, David Thomas, began repairs on the upper apartment.
Meanwhile, the structure was found “Unsafe for Human Occupancy,” the house was torn down and Sean Thomas was found guilty of trespassing in the structure.
Sean and his father appealed the decision to condemn, arguing there was no interior inspection and proper notice was not given. However, their appeal was dismissed for lack of standing. The trial court ruled the record did not contain enough evidence to show Sean Thomas was an heir to the property.
Sean Thomas submitted an affidavit showing he was Kiefer’s son, along with a copy of the deed listing Kiefer as the owner. He had no evidence proving he was the titled owner of the property or that he was entitled to inherit the home.
Ninth District Judge Eve V. Belfance stated there was at least a dispute of material fact as to whether Sean Thomas can pursue a damages complaint for the demolished home.
“There is no dispute that Ms. Kiefer had passed away without a will prior to the events at issue in this case, nor is there any dispute that she was the owner of 315 Lucas Street at the time that she died,” Judge Belfance wrote. “Therefore, at the time of the condemnation proceeding, legal title to 315 Lucas Street had passed to an heir or possibly heirs.
“… However, Mr. Baushlinger did not present any evidence regarding Sean Thomas’s absence of any right to inherit from Ms. Kiefer. Nor did he make any such argument in his motion for summary judgment. Instead, he focused solely upon Mr. Kiefer’s name being on the deed at the time of condemnation, which occurred after her death.”
The panel also found Bauschlinger was not immune from liability.
In his deposition, David Thomas testified he had requested permission to enter the property to get their personal belongings and that Bauschlinger repeatedly told him he had no authority to allow them to return to the property.
“… It is clear that, if he refused access under the circumstances of this case, Mr. Bauschlinger was violating the policies of his department without cause,” Judge Belfance stated. “… There is a general dispute of fact as to whether Mr. Bauschlinger purposefully behaved in a wrongful manner with the knowledge of the likelihood of resulting injury.”
Ninth District judges Donna Carr and Beth Whitmore concurred with the decision to remand for further proceedings.
The case is cited Thomas v. Bauschlinger, 2015-Ohio-281.