ARLINGTON — A case of property squatters and conflicting property ownership claims was finally brought to a close April 6, as the City Council agreed to settle the Arlington vs. Kinman case.
The council voted to allow city attorney Steve Peiffle to dismiss the city’s lawsuit in exchange for CitiMortgage paying all costs and attorneys’ fees.
The city had filed a lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court, naming both property owner Charles Kinman and mortgage company CitiMortgage, as well as various occupants of Kinman’s property at 127 W. Gilman.
“Some time ago, Mr. Kinman went underwater on the property, gave the bank a deed in lieu of foreclosure and vacated the premises,” said Kristin Banfield, director of communications for the city. “For unknown reasons, the deed got lost in the shuffle, and the property sat vacant for a very long time; years, we believe.”
Kinman asserted he had turned the property over to a mortgage company as part of a foreclosure, but during this time the original mortgage company went out of business, and the property belongs to CitiMortgage as a result.
In 2013-14, the city received dozens of complaints from neighbors about squatters living in the house and attempting to establish utility connections illegally. Banfield noted that, during the city’s responses to the complaints, it discovered an illegal connection to city water and shut it off. But squatters kept living on the property with no utilities.
“The neighbors continued to complain to the police department about drug dealing and other unsavory activities by the squatters, and the city tried to get the Kinmans and Citi to do something, but neither one would do anything to resolve the situation, each pointing their fingers at the other,” Banfield said. “In July, the city sued everybody we could — the owners, the bank, the John and Jane Doe squatters.”
After receiving this litigation, the Kinmans gave the city permission to trespass the squatters, thereby securing the house. This still left the city with unpaid court costs and attorneys’ fees, but CitiMortgage has agreed to reimburse these expenses, which total approximately $4,500.
“It’s good to see this come to a conclusion,” Peiffle said.
