Chalker v. Howland Township Board of Trustees

658 N.E.2d 335, 74 Ohio Misc. 2d 5, 1995 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 48
CourtTrumbull County Court of Common Pleas
DecidedMay 26, 1995
DocketNo. 89 CV 0976
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 658 N.E.2d 335 (Chalker v. Howland Township Board of Trustees) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chalker v. Howland Township Board of Trustees, 658 N.E.2d 335, 74 Ohio Misc. 2d 5, 1995 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 48 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1995).

Opinion

Joseph R. Kainrad, Judge.

This matter is before the court upon motions for reconsideration filed by both parties. The court has reviewed the pleadings and its prior order in this case and has decided to reconsider its prior decision.

Pending before the court for reconsideration are defendants’ motion for summary judgment and plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment. This decision will supplant the decision on summary judgment previously rendered by the court.

I. FACTS AND ISSUES PRESENTED

The undisputed facts are as follows. On June 27, 1987, defendant Howland Township Board of Trustees (“Trustees”) met in session regarding the property located at 806 Henn Hyde Road, N.E., Howland Township, Trumbull County, Ohio. Before them were three letters about the conditions existing at the property.

One letter, dated June 17, 1987, was from the Township Fire Chief, co-defendant George D. Brown (“Fire Chief’), informing the Trustees that a dead body had been found in the residence located on the property just five days before, and conditions at the premises were such as for him to “question the life [and] safety of our residents and firefighters.” He had inspected the property that same day accompanied by two county health department officials and the Township Zoning Inspector. He related the conditions he found at the residence and garage, including unsecured doors, broken windows, makeshift and unsafe steps into the residence, very old spoiled food, combustible debris scattered throughout the residence, mattresses on the floor, four to five feet of water in the basement, a collapsing front porch, and weeds three feet high. He recommended that the structure be brought to safe standards or destroyed and recommended that the Trustees destroy the house.

Another letter, dated June 18, 1987, came from a county health department official who had accompanied the Fire Chief in his inspection of the premises. He concluded that the residence was in poor condition, evidenced structural damage, and concluded that “the basement poses both a health and safety hazard to neighboring residence” and “the house is unfit for human habitation.”

The last letter, dated June 22, 1987, was from the Township Zoning Inspector, co-defendant Gordon McLean (“Zoning Inspector”), detailing his inspection of the property with the Fire Chief and county health department officials and relating the history of zoning violations, its vacancy since before 1982, and neighborhood complaints, and concluding that the structures were insecure. He reminded the [11]*11Trustees that in the previous year, 1986, the township had pumped water from the flooded basement and cut weeds in the front yard. He recommended that the Trustees “take such, action as necessary to eliminate the hazardous condition permanently.”

In session, the Trustees unanimously enacted two resolutions, pursuant to R.C. 505.86 and 505.87. The first authorized the Zoning Inspector to enforce the “removal, repair, and/or secure the condition[s]” at the home and garage, after giving the owner, plaintiff Leonard J. Chalker (“Chalker”), notice of the resolution by other than certified mail and seven days to remedy the conditions.

The second resolution authorized the Zoning Inspector to give Chalker and any lien holders of record seven days’ notice by certified mail “of the Township’s intention to abate, control or remove the nuisance” if the overgrown vegetation was not removed in seven days, and the costs incurred would be assessed against such property.

Both resolutions provided Chalker with seven days to remedy the problems. Neither the resolutions nor the notice offered Chalker a hearing prior to the enforcement action’s being taken by the township.

That same day Chalker personally received written notice of the resolutions. The notice stated that an emergency existed and detailed the violations found on the property. It gave Chalker seven days to remedy the conditions or the township would enter upon his property and take “necessary action to remedy the condition immediately” and charge the cost to Chalker’s real estate taxes. The notice did not say what specific remedial action would be taken. Chalker was directed to immediately contact the Zoning Inspector.

Plaintiff Margaret Chalker (“Mrs. Chalker”), who claims a mortgage interest in the property, lived in the same residence as Chalker. Although the notice was delivered to her house, she was neither provided with a copy of the notice nor told of its delivery by Chalker. She later received oral notice over the telephone.

On July 14, 1987, some seventeen days after the resolutions were adopted, the Zoning Inspector and Fire Chief met Chalker at the Howland Township building, and discussed the action that the township was going to take if the conditions were not immediately corrected. Later that evening, township officials, including the Zoning Inspector and employees under the Fire Chief, who was also present, set fire to the buildings, destroying both them and their contents.

Plaintiffs brought claims for trespass, wrongful demolition, negligence (both “gross” and malicious), violation of rights secured by the Ohio Constitution, and violation of rights secured by the United States Constitution and the civil rights statute, Section 1983, Title 42, U.S.Code. All parties have moved for summary judgment and have attached affidavits supporting their respective positions.

[12]*12After extensive re-review of the pleadings, affidavits, and depositions, it appears to the court that this case boils down to five issues: (1) whether R.C. 505.86 and 505.87 are constitutional and lawfully applied here; (2) if so, whether the Trustees were justified in enacting the resolutions as emergencies which allowed the notices to be given within a shortened time; (3) whether the emergency presented to the Trustees was such as to preclude plaintiffs’ being offered a hearing before the property was destroyed; (4) whether the enforcement action taken — burning the buildings and their contents — was reasonably justified under the circumstances; and (5) whether plaintiffs demonstrated evidence of bad faith, malice, recklessness on the part of township officials.

If the Trustees were justified in determining that an emergency precluded giving plaintiffs a thirty-day statutory notice and an opportunity for hearing, and if their actions in burning the buildings were reasonably necessary under all the circumstances to protect the public health and safety, plaintiffs have no claim against any defendant.

If, however, the Trustees were not justified in any of the three respects— emergency for notice, emergency precluding hearing, and reasonableness of destroying the buildings — plaintiffs may maintain claims against defendants. It is these last considerations which will require the court to fully re-explore the relevant law in light of the facts presented.

II. STANDARD FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

As set out in the prior ruling of this court, at this stage of the proceedings, the granting of judgment is proper only when “reasonable minds can come to but one conclusion and that conclusion is adverse to the party against whom the motion for summary judgment is made, such party being entitled to have the evidence or stipulation construed most strongly in his favor.” Civ.R. 56(C); Temple v. Wean United, Inc. (1977), 50 Ohio St.2d 317, 327, 4 O.O.3d 466, 472, 364 N.E.2d 267, 274.

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658 N.E.2d 335, 74 Ohio Misc. 2d 5, 1995 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 48, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chalker-v-howland-township-board-of-trustees-ohctcompltrumbu-1995.