Curry County Sheriff John Ward is one of the defendants in Thursday's lawsuit.
Justin Higginbottom / JPR
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday in federal court, John Malaer claims that in July 2022 he was living on property owned by Curry County in the small, coastal community of Harbor, Oregon, across the river from Brookings.
He says the county’s code enforcement officer posted a trespassing notice outside his tent that did not comply with state law. The lawsuit says that notice was later rescinded.
On the same day, the county then leased that property to a private individual for $1 a year, turning it into private property. The lawsuit argues the county did not give adequate notice of this change before then threatening to arrest those camping on the property and issuing a criminal citation to Malaer later that night.
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Alicia LeDuc Montgomery, the lead attorney representing Malaer, said for the county to lease property, it has to be in the public interest.
“How can they possibly say that leasing public property, where the public is using it for the basic necessity of being able to sleep somewhere at night or access services that they need to survive, is outweighed by a $1 revenue stream per year?” she said.
The lawsuit was filed against the county, Sheriff John Ward, two men who were sheriff’s deputies at the time, former County Commissioner Christopher Paasch and the former Code Enforcement Officer Melvin Trover.
The Board of Commissioners and Ward did not respond to a request for comment.
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According to an agenda item from a July 6, 2022 Board of Commissioners meeting, Trover sought to have the county vacate the property and lease it to property manager Ron Reel. The goal was to “address the tents.”
Instead, the property was leased to Ue Ching Ow, who appears to be an anesthesiologist in Monterey, California. The site is near Shopping Center Avenue and Zimmerman Lane in Harbor, near a liquor store.
“The County engaged in this leasing as a bad faith attempt to levy criminal charges against unhoused campers, including Mr. Malaer, and avoid complying with state laws intended to protect the rights of individuals camping on public property, simply because Mr. Malaer and others remained camping in public view on public property for lack of other housing or resource options and asserted their rights,” the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also claims the county violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, since Malaer is disabled and “could not physically comply with the order or move all of his property in the time demanded.”
LeDuc Montgomery said they’re seeking a jury trial, as well as economic and compensatory damages of an unspecified amount.