Fined $750 for a house I don’t own
It is hard to see the actions of the city during citation 54540 as anything other than municipal harassment. The citation called me into court to answer for ordinance violations allegedly occurring at 2454 Delmar. This sounds reasonable on the surface, except for the fact that I did not own Delmar, which any search of Madison county records would of revealed.
I notified the city of this fact through a statement sent via certified mail prior to my hearing, however, as I heard no response I had to submit my statement and explain this fact in person. I asserted that Granite city should reissue the citation to the actual owner of the property listed on public record. However, this evidently was not enough for Granite city, as I had to go to court not just a second time, but a third time as well to explain the exact same facts.
On my third court appearance, frustrated that I had to take the time to answer not once but thrice for code violations at a house I did not own; I submitted the following written statement. Note: This statement was also mailed to Granite city Mayor Ed Hagnauer.
Granite city officials verbally dismissed the citation at the third hearing.
Imagine my surprise when later I received a Default Judgment demanding $750.00 because I allegedly missed a hearing for violations at a property that I did not own. I did not receive notice of any such hearing.
