Posted on 11/27/2017 5:39:34 AM PST by reaganaut1
In the annals of governmental incompetence and venality, this case is hard to top.
Back in October, 2015, Mr. and Mrs. David Garrett bought some property from New Orleans. The city had owned the property since 1998, when it had acquired the land and building from its tax-delinquent owner, Charles Jett. During the following 17 years, the city let the building (a townhouse) deteriorate. The Garretts purchased the property for just $7,000, intending to refurbish it.
Over the years, New Orleans officials had initiated several code violations against Jett for the bad condition of the townhouse, failing to recognize that the property no longer belonged to him, but to the city. At the time of the sale to the Garretts, the city did not tell them that the building was an immediate safety threat or give them any warnings about it.
On January 29, 2016, New Orleans had a wrecking crew demolish the townhouse. The city had not informed the Garretts of their plan to do so. It had tried to notify Jett, but the property hadn’t been for the last 17 years.
Once the Garretts got over the stunning destruction of their property (in fact, they had just days before paid the 2016 taxes on the it), they wrote a letter to the city, asking for compensation for the loss of their building.
You might think that city officials would at this point realize how badly they had screwed up and choose to avoid litigation by making the Garretts whole.
You would be wrong. Instead, the city replied to the letter by sending the owners a bill for $11,000 to cover the cost of having demolished their property.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
Ridiculous
What happens when people put too much trust in government - they become fascist dictators.
Wanna bet that someone in the New Orleans city government or connected to it has their eye on the property and can’t wait to get it condemned and transferred?
New Orleans is the only city more corrupt than Chicago.
It would appear Jett sold a property he no longer owned. The problem then becomes a problem for the title search service and the lawyers that handled the transfer. It is also up to the city to produce a deed proving actual ownership.
Lawyer heaven
An overlay pop, followed by THREE pages full of ads, the last being a very short paragraph?
Clickbait writ large!
I hope the legal wranglings of New Orleans come back to bite them very hard. Sell a property then knock it down within a month, then try to charge for the demolition?
Crooks!
Napoleonic law is the foundation of the legal code in Lousiana.
Nothing would surprise me. The law is different than the other 49 states (or 56 states-if Obama is reading this).
Isn’t LA an abstract state?
All deals are closed using the services of a lawyer, IIRC.
Sell a property, CHARGE THEM PROPERTY TAXES, then knock it down within a month (without warning), and bill for the demolition.
Didn't some Communist regime bill the relatives for the bullet used to kill daddy?
Jett did not sell the property. The state seized it 17 years ago for unpaid taxes.
“Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”
Jett did not sell the property. The state seized it 17 years ago for unpaid taxes.
Fun reading a research and avoid FORBES.
Use StartPage or DuckDuckGo to search for “DAVID GARRETT, NEW ORLEANS, JETT, DEMOLITION.”
<>https://pacificlegal.org/case/garrett-v-city-of-new-orleans/
<>http://mobile.wnd.com/2017/10/city-demolishes-couples-newly-bought-townhome/
<>http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2016/11/new_orleans_demolished_house_a.html
“Back in October, 2015, Mr. and Mrs. David Garrett bought some property from New Orleans. The city had owned the property since 1998, when it had acquired the land and building from its tax-delinquent owner, Charles Jett. During the following 17 years”
From the few details given, I assume N.O. received title to the property through a tax delinquency sale, then sold it to The Garretts. The Garretts then paid taxes on the property, but had not yet begun any renovations on the building. Some pencil pusher with the N.O. government decided it was time to demolish the building and—since the right hand of government never knows what the left hand is doing—not realizing the city had acquired the property from the former owner and resold it to a new owner, notified the former owner.
The city, by demolishing the building, took property without just compensation. The city will have to pay. However, it is N.O. so who knows what will happen.
One of the least discussed issues in government - in news reports or anywhere - is how, in bureaucracies, with multiple departments, they can be so uncoordinated with each other that the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing. It’s not just that the bureaucrats merely do not inform the private citizens well, they don’t inform each other well.
That would be bad enough, if they then just admitted their errors, which too often they won’t.
What happens when people put too much trust in government
************
Exactly right. Instead of the government serving the people, the people become subservient to the government.
And there is no accountability. Once the government screws something up, there are no apologies or restitution.
I would say you are quite correct.
The city can not possibly win in court, especially for the charges for demolition. They need to be sued if they insist in paymnent.
Regarding the demolition itself, if there was no recording of any of the notifications to the original owner attached to the title, the city can’t win there either.
Yep. You and I are on the same page here. I wonder if the couple got title insurance.
Bingo.
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