Professor faces legal messes
By Sharon Christensen
Daily Forty-Niner
After two previous
postponements, the sale of the Huntington Harbour home of professor Elena
Zagustin was final July 14. But the Cal State Long Beach engineering professor
has more legal tangles ahead.
On Aug. 12, the new
owners of the property filed a suit against Zagustin, asking for more than
$1,000 in statutory and compensatory damages for maintaining unlawful possession
of the home, even after the sale and transfer of the deed, according to
court records.
The sale of the home
was part of a court-ordered settlement to pay the more than $350,000 her
neighbors won in civil judgements against her.
"Our case is going
to be simple," said Maureen Levine, a Placentia-based attorney representing
Randal Durham and Rudy Silva, the current owners. ìMy client is
the owner and she [Zagustin] is still in possession.î
In the suit, Durham
and Silva insist that Zagustin has yet to relinquish possession despite
the July Orange County marshal's sale during which they paid $301,500 for
the home.
The legal definition
of possession is, however, elusive.
"She still has the
property," said Levine, adding that whether Zagustin actually lives there
is unimportant.
"She's still living
in the house and it appears that she's packing up," said neighbor David
Flynn. "She's slamming and banging around until the wee hours of the morning."
Zagustin filed an
answer to the lawsuit, denying that she was served with a three-day written
notice to vacate the property July 27, almost two weeks after the date
of sale and denying Durham's and Silva's claims of ownership, according
to the case file.
The sale of the home,
originally scheduled for April and again in June, had been postponed due
to Zagustin's filing for change of venue and a third-party claim she made
on the property.
The property has
been a thorn in the side of the affluent neighborhood for more than 20
years. Zagustin was convicted last November on 69 counts of fire, health
and safety code violations due to what the court concluded were the unsanitary
conditions of her home.
For now, Zagustin's
Huntington Harbour neighbors are concentrating on what may mean the end
of a long litigational journey.
"This [the sale]
was a major turning point in the battle," said community coach Jim Walker,
who has worked with Zagustin's neighbors. But, he added, ìthis tension
is still there regardless of what's been decided in the courts."
A previously planned
block party, set to coincide with the final sale of the home, has also
been postponed.
"We're just waiting
until she's out of here so we can have a big party," Flynn said.
Zagustin, who has
been on paid sabbatical from the university for the past year, is due to
return to the classroom this semester. "She is scheduled to teach
this semester," said Toni Beron of the CSULB public relations office. ìShe
has not advised us otherwise.î
The case will be
heard Sept. 1 at the Westminster Superior Court. Until that time, Levine
said she intends to maintain a professional attitude toward Zagustin.
"I have no desire
to get into the public lynch mob mentality,î she said. ìIn
this case I don't think it will benefit us to take that attitude."
"You may talk to
me in two weeks and my story may be completely different," she added. |
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