Eviction at Superior Creek Lodge
In just a few weeks, the fate of the Superior Creek Lodge will be decided. The city of East Ridge says the hotel is a nuisance and if it closes, dozens of people will have to find new homes. Today, a NewsChannel 9 investigation found the hotel management carrying out an eviction of their own.. One that raises quite a few questions..
Adrienne Kitchen says, it was only recently, that Superior Creek management began asking about a friend of hers they deemed of questionable character. "The manager had people to check my apartment and see if somebody was there. There was nobody there." She says, there were 6 searches in all, that never produced anybody. On August 20th, she came home.. And all her belongings were gone. "I called the front desk," she says, "and asked them where my things were, and they said 'well all your things are up front,' and I said 'y'all putting me out without a written notice?" She was then told that if she didn't come get her belongings, they'd be thrown in the trash. "I had receipts where I have been behind before, churches have helped me because of the economy," she says.
"But are they just gonna throw me out?"
"This is an illegal eviction," says Emily Ahlquist, who specializes in housing issues as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of East Tennessee. "Superior Creek Lodge was required by the Landlord-Tenant Act to go through the court if they wanted to retake possession of her apartment." Further investigation turned up another startling revelation about the seizure of her property. "That is illegal as well," she says. "In very narrow circumstances, a landlord is allowed to hold onto property when a tenant abandons an apartment. That did not happen in Ms. Kitchen's case."
Our search for answers, led us to David Gysin, the owner of Superior Creek Lodge. "I really can't comment on this stuff, I'm sorry," he told us over the phone. We asked if he knew that it was illegal to hold onto Ms. Kitchen's belongings in an eviction, and received the same "I'm not going to comment, I'm sorry." We wanted to know if he knew the rules, and received the same "no comment."
While Ms. Kitchen retrieves her seized property, she contemplates an uncertain future. "I'm out here on the streets," she told us, a thought which drew tears. "We slept in the car Wednesday night" as her voice and her thoughts trailed off.
Ms. Ahlquist says, she's also investigating to see if any Federal and state fair housing laws have been violated in Ms. Kitchen's case. We'll follow this situation and let you know what happens. In the meantime, if you've got questions about landlord-tenant rules and regulations, call Legal Aid of East Tennessee at 423-756-4013.
