Judge denies motion to proceed with Aberdeen riverfront evictions

By Louis Krauss • May 15, 2018 7:00 pm
(Courtesy Jeff Moses) One of the cabins along the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. The landowner and his partner are attempting to evict the people who live there.
(Courtesy Jeff Moses) One of the cabins along the Chehalis River in Aberdeen. The landowner and his partner are attempting to evict the people who live there.

Aberdeen riverfront land owner Mike Lang and his acting power of attorney Sam Hutchinson are working through the legal process to evict the homeless people who live on Lang’s property, but a Superior Court judge recently denied a motion for an order to show cause.

In the court documents returned May 9, Judge David Edwards said he denied the motion because Hutchinson and Lang “are not asserting a landlord/tenant relationship with any of the occupants.”

Had this motion been approved, it would’ve required the riverside campers to appear in court. Because of this denial, the case won’t be reconsidered until enough information is given to convince the judge this is a landlord-tenant relationship.

In the official complaints sent to the court, Hutchinson, of Ocean Shores, did not list any names of the riverfront campers, instead submitting 36 forms that were titled “Doe 1”, “Doe 2,” etc. In the forms’ spaces for the names of defendants, Hutchinson just listed, “All occupants, residents, transients and homeless.”

On Thursday, Hutchinson told The Daily World he would be meeting with a new attorney he is paying to handle the case and reattempt to get the evictions approved.

“I was told by this attorney we will go through the legal way to get it done, and I’m going to just hand it over to him,” said Hutchinson, who owns Aquatic Weed Control in Ocean Shores.

Lang gave Hutchinson permission to manage the riverfront property earlier this year, and has since been working to move those living on it. Since then, there have been multiple confrontations between the people working with Hutchinson to clear out the property and the homeless people camping there.

When asked why he is attempting to move out the people living along the river, Hutchinson said “I’m really just trying to help the owner.”

Hutchinson said he is not receiving any compensation from Lang for helping clear out the property, and that he’s not intending to buy the property for his own use.

“Check my finances, I definitely don’t have the money to buy the property myself,” said Hutchinson.