TOLEDO, Ohio — A court hearing scheduled for Friday over a trailer park dispute in Defiance did not happen.
A Defiance County judge was expected to hear the case against the city of Defiance filed by Defiance Partners, LLC, owners of NorthTowne trailer park, to keep 18 trailers from being torn down.
Call 11 for Action was told by a clerk while waiting for proceedings Friday morning, that the two sides were in the judge's chambers discussing a possible agreement.
Both the city attorney, Sean O'Donnell, and the park's attorney, John F. Myers, declined to comment after the meeting.
As of Friday afternoon, neither side divulged details of any agreement, nor was that information available on the court website.
A counter-suit filed by the city Thursday asks that the trailer park owners be prohibited from putting any more residents in the condemned trailers during the court process.
It also asks the judge to make the park owners compensate residents for relocation expenses due to the park advertising those trailers were available.
The city is also asking for the park owners to pay for the trailers to be torn down.
The city also stated that "the local park manager began to rent the trailers on the condemned lots to individuals unbeknownst to the city" and that "none of the manufactured homes have been rehabilitated to comply with the City Nuisance and Fire Code."
The original suit filed by Defiance Partners against the city on Jan. 19 asked for a temporary restraining order and an injunction preventing the city from tearing the trailers down. The restraining order was rejected and a hearing was scheduled to address the injunction.
During a hearing on Oct. 16 by the Nuisance Abatement Board, the city said in its counterclaim that "the parties left the hearing with the understanding that the city would begin demolition of the vacant manufactured homes within 30 days of the demolition findings of the Board. Due to difficulties in contacting the Plaintiff to review the proposed, stipulated findings, Counsel for the Defendant did not have the Board execute the demolition findings until December 6, 2023. Counsel for Defendant made several attempts to contact Counsel for Plaintiff, but was unsuccessful. During this period and unbenownst to Defendant, Plaintiff was attempting to fill these manufactured homes with unsuspecting residents by enticing them with promises of 'free homes' and no responsibility for back taxes on a social media advertising site."
The city went on to claim that Defiance Partners, LLC, held an "open house" for potential tenants to visit the trailers, with full knowledge they were about to be condemned and estimates eight families moved in.
A couple of the park residents waited Friday at the courthouse for answers as to what's going to be done with their homes but received no answers.
"We're still in the dark. We don't know what's gonna happen," said McKenna Murray, a mother of three children. "Apparently, the attorneys didn't want to discuss it with anybody that is currently living there so that's kind of disappointing. I don't know what we're going to do from here."
Tenants at the park told Call 11 for Action they were told the vacant trailers were available to rehabilitate and move into in October. They paid application fees, rent and money to rehab the units, just before demolition notices appeared on their doors.
"My main focus is taking care of my kids, making sure that they have a place to go," Murray said. "If all else fails, I mean, I don't know what all else to do. There's no place for blame at this point in my eyes there's just too much happening. I have to keep myself sane and my kids safe and that's where I'm at."