Property owner seeks legal action to force Seattle mayor to order disabled vet’s eviction

Two weeks after Seattle Mayor Ed Murray ordered police officers to stand down and not remove a disabled vet from his foreclosed home, the new owner is taking legal action to force the eviction.

Byron and Jean Barton drew widespread attention after King County Sheriff’s deputies evicted the couple from their West Seattle home July 18. Protestors attempted to stop the eviction, and later that day the couple and others broke back into the house. Police ultimately left the scene, and Murray subsequently ordered the police department to take no further action while court proceedings “unwind.”

But Triangle Property Development, which bought the home in a foreclosure auction in April, has filed a formal legal request asking a King County Judge to order Murray and the Seattle Police Department to remove the couple from the home.

“We had waited to do this because we were hoping to be able to work this out amicably and obviously that has not happened,” says Synthia Melton, attorney for Triangle Property Development.

Melton says the mayor is failing in his duty to uphold the law, because a court previously approved the foreclosure and sale of the home.

“This is now a criminal act, this is no longer part of a civil case,” she says. “He’s not only condoning a criminal act but future evictions which are carried out by the King County Sheriff’s Office are going to be more difficult for law enforcement.”

Melton says the Bartons received the house free and clear from a family trust in 2003 and used a series of mortgages to turn the value of the house into cash, racking up more than $660,000 of debt by 2007.

The couple stopped making payments on their mortgages in 2011, and their lender began foreclosure proceedings in 2012, Melton says.

While Barton’s supporters have criticized the company for a lack of compassion, Melton says the company was mindful of his disability and made repeated offers of thousands of dollars of relocation assistance to the family. But she says the family repeatedly refused the help, forcing Triangle to ultimately seek court action.

In a news conference Wednesday, Murray said the city was not aware of all the issues in advance, and he determined it was appropriate to temporarily stop the eviction given Barton’s disability.

“There are circumstances throughout this that I believed needed a pause to be looked at,” he said.

The mayor said he has asked several city agencies to work with the family and see if there are other options, and said he would uphold the law if a court orders him to do so.

“I think the more important thing is that we are trying to assist a disabled veteran and we will enforce the law,” Murray said. “But I still believe there is an opportunity to try and resolve this without a physical eviction and I would like further clarity on whether evicting someone from a foreclosed home is the responsibility of the Seattle Police Department.”

A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 8 in King County Superior Court.