Hunter
07/14/22
A West Liberty resident has filed a one million dollar-plus lawsuit against the city, alleging that complaints about a neighbor’s excessive dog droppings and late night parties led to the city retaliating against him.
Iowa Capital Dispatch reports that Fay Olsen made complaints in 2020 to police about his neighbor, a City Hall employee. The complaints addressed excessive dog poop not being picked up, the dogs pooping in his yard, and late night parties including loud music, profanities and men exposing themselves to his children as they peed toward his yard.
Olsen claims police officers responded to his complaints “and actually threw the law and code out of their car windows when it was given to them, littering.”
In July of that year, the city issued 17 citations against Olson, including building code issues, garbage accumulation, and a claim that he was operating a salvage business out of his home. 13 of those citations were later dismissed by request of the city attorney. The other four were also dismissed by a judge, who ruled that the buildings on Olsen’s property were well within code, there was no significant evidence of garbage on the premises, and no violation of city code regarding his business.
Olsen, who is representing himself, says he, his wife and mother spent hundreds of hours studying the law as they worked to get the citations dismissed.
The Capital Dispatch article, reprinted in the Press Citizen, says that the city has yet to file a response to the suit, which seeks over $1.08 million in compensatory and punitive damages.