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Oklahoma Association of Municipal Attorneys

COVID IMPACT ON NUISANCE PROCEEDINGS

Jon Miller

Tue, Mar 2, 2021 7:30 PM

Does COVID or other laws prohibit a City from pursuing a nuisance proceeding against the occupant of a home?

An occupant of property terminated all city services (water, sewer, etc.) and electrical services (not provided by city) and continues living in home. Landlord cannot evict because of COVID restrictions. Occupant has wired the home to run from alternative sources which does not comply with Electrical Code and creates noise nuisance and code violations create a nuisance and safety hazard. I can find nothing in the State's executive orders that would prohibit the City from declaring the property a health and safety nuisance or from declaring it a safety hazard and ordering it be vacated. Anyone have different thoughts?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155

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Does COVID or other laws prohibit a City from pursuing a nuisance proceeding against the occupant of a home? An occupant of property terminated all city services (water, sewer, etc.) and electrical services (not provided by city) and continues living in home. Landlord cannot evict because of COVID restrictions. Occupant has wired the home to run from alternative sources which does not comply with Electrical Code and creates noise nuisance and code violations create a nuisance and safety hazard. I can find nothing in the State's executive orders that would prohibit the City from declaring the property a health and safety nuisance or from declaring it a safety hazard and ordering it be vacated. Anyone have different thoughts? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B P.O. Box 546 Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078 Telephone: (405) 883-6266 Facsimile: (405) 883-6155 ******************************************************************************* This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.

Larry Vickers

Wed, Mar 3, 2021 3:58 PM

I agree with your assessment as it is a safety hazard.

Larry Vickers, Jr.
Attorney At Law, P.L.L.C.

600 Emporia Street, Suite B

Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401

Phone: 918-682-5900

303 South Thornton

Vian, Oklahoma 74962

Phone: 918-773-4004

http://www.lvickerslaw.com http://www.lvickerslaw.com/

E-mails from this firm normally contain confidential and privileged material, and are for the sole use of the intended recipient. Use or distribution by an unintended recipient is prohibited, and may be a violation of law. If you believe that you received this e-mail in error, please do not read this e-mail or any attached items. Please delete the e-mail and all attachments, including any copies thereof, and inform the sender that you have deleted the e-mail, all attachments and any copies thereof. Thank you.

From: Oama oama-bounces@lists.imla.org on behalf of Jon Miller jonmiller@jem-pc.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 2, 2021 1:30:24 PM
To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org)
Subject: [Oama] COVID IMPACT ON NUISANCE PROCEEDINGS

Does COVID or other laws prohibit a City from pursuing a nuisance proceeding against the occupant of a home?

An occupant of property terminated all city services (water, sewer, etc.) and electrical services (not provided by city) and continues living in home. Landlord cannot evict because of COVID restrictions. Occupant has wired the home to run from alternative sources which does not comply with Electrical Code and creates noise nuisance and code violations create a nuisance and safety hazard. I can find nothing in the State’s executive orders that would prohibit the City from declaring the property a health and safety nuisance or from declaring it a safety hazard and ordering it be vacated. Anyone have different thoughts?

Jonathan E. Miller
City Attorney
City of Mustang
1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B
P.O. Box 546
Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078
Telephone: (405) 883-6266
Facsimile: (405) 883-6155

I agree with your assessment as it is a safety hazard. Larry Vickers, Jr. Attorney At Law, P.L.L.C. 600 Emporia Street, Suite B Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401 Phone: 918-682-5900 & 303 South Thornton Vian, Oklahoma 74962 Phone: 918-773-4004 http://www.lvickerslaw.com<http://www.lvickerslaw.com/> E-mails from this firm normally contain confidential and privileged material, and are for the sole use of the intended recipient. Use or distribution by an unintended recipient is prohibited, and may be a violation of law. If you believe that you received this e-mail in error, please do not read this e-mail or any attached items. Please delete the e-mail and all attachments, including any copies thereof, and inform the sender that you have deleted the e-mail, all attachments and any copies thereof. Thank you. ________________________________ From: Oama <oama-bounces@lists.imla.org> on behalf of Jon Miller <jonmiller@jem-pc.com> Sent: Tuesday, March 2, 2021 1:30:24 PM To: oama (oama@lists.imla.org) Subject: [Oama] COVID IMPACT ON NUISANCE PROCEEDINGS Does COVID or other laws prohibit a City from pursuing a nuisance proceeding against the occupant of a home? An occupant of property terminated all city services (water, sewer, etc.) and electrical services (not provided by city) and continues living in home. Landlord cannot evict because of COVID restrictions. Occupant has wired the home to run from alternative sources which does not comply with Electrical Code and creates noise nuisance and code violations create a nuisance and safety hazard. I can find nothing in the State’s executive orders that would prohibit the City from declaring the property a health and safety nuisance or from declaring it a safety hazard and ordering it be vacated. Anyone have different thoughts? Jonathan E. Miller City Attorney City of Mustang 1885 Piedmont Road N., Suite B P.O. Box 546 Piedmont, Oklahoma 73078 Telephone: (405) 883-6266 Facsimile: (405) 883-6155 ******************************************************************************* This message is sent by a lawyer and may contain information that is privileged or confidential. If you received this transmission in error, please notify the sender by reply e-mail and delete this message and any attachments. This e-mail is intended for the addressee(s) only, and may not be distributed to any other person without written consent of the sender. Circular 230 disclosure: To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, we inform you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in this communication (including attachments) is not intended or written to be used and cannot be used for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.