100-Year-Old Iris Canada Stands Her Ground Despite Efforts To Evict Her By Peter Owens

SAN FRANCISCO - Nov. 1, 2016 - PRLog -- Posted courtesy of Wright Enterprises-www.wrightnow.biz

100-Year Old Iris Canada Stands Her Ground Despite Efforts To Evict Her By Peter Owens

By Anh Lê

What will happen to Iris Canada?

Her attorney, Dennis Zaragoza, went to San Francisco Superior Court on September 20, to obtain a stay of eviction for Canada.  The stay of eviction granted by the Court would be effective until 5 pm on September 27.

Peter Owens, one of the three co-owners of the building where Ms. Canada lives, has been trying to evict her from her home.

Iris Canada, a 100-year old African American woman who has lived at her apartment in San Francisco for 40 years, continues to battle efforts to evict her by Owens.  Canada, who lives at 670 Page Street, moved to San Francisco with her husband from Texas and worked as a nurse at San Francisco General Hospital.

This reporter reached out to Owens to get his perspective. Owens stated on September 22, "When we bought the building in 2002, we granted her, completely voluntarily and free of charge, a Life Estate right to live out her life for $700/month because it was the right thing to do.  We are not evicting Ms. Canada.  We have not wavered from that commitment."

The story is almost like that of David and Goliath.

Peter Owens, his wife Carolyn Radisch, and his brother Steven Owens, bought the apartment building, as a "tenancy-in-common" (T.I.C), and tried to convert the other apartment units into condominiums.  Owens and his family have resided in Vermont and New Hampshire.  Owens once worked as a planner at the Presidio Trust in San Francisco.  His most recent job was as Director of the Office of Economic Development in Burlington, Vermont. He resigned from that post in April 2016.

Owens hired the powerful law firm of Zacks, Freedman, and Patterson.  Andrew Zacks' law firm is well known in San Francisco for representing landlords and evicting tenants.  Mark Chernov of the law firm has been representing Owens at court sessions.

After a series of attorneys and even periods of time without the assistance of an attorney, Canada is now represented by Dennis Zaragoza, a Latino attorney.

Judge A. John Robertson II has been presiding over the case.

On August 9, Robertson ruled that Canada must pay Owens the $164,000 which he has been demanding from her, to pay his own lawyers' fees.

Following an August 12 court session, Iris Canada's supporters went to the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant Street to hold a press conference.  Rev. Amos Brown, minister at Third Baptist Church and president of the San Francisco chapter of the NAACP, condemned Owens' ongoing efforts to evict Canada.

After the press conference, Canada's supporters went to District Attorney George Gascon's office, to demand that he file elder abuse charges against Owens.  They demanded to meet with Gascon or an assistant district attorney.  The District Attorney's media spokesperson, Maxwell Szabo , said that they could not meet with Gascon or any assistant district attorney.

At the court hearing on August 17, Judge Robertson announced that he had made a tentative decision to deny another motion by Zaragoza on Canada's behalf, a motion regarding jurisdiction of the case.  Zaragoza had filed a motion arguing that the case should be handled by the federal court, rather than the San Francisco Superior Court.

This case involves other issues besides Owens' demand that Canada pay $164,000 for his own lawyers' fees.

Owens also demands that Canada sign papers to allow him to turn the apartment units into condominiums.  Canada's niece, Iris Merriouns, states that Owens is violating the law because he has not followed the "first right of refusal" requirement, to allow Canada to purchase the apartment unit.

Owens had also demanded of the court, and Judge Robertson had ordered in previous rulings, that Canada live at her apartment by herself, with no other occupant, even a family member or a caregiver.

When asked why he continued his efforts to get her evicted even though he claimed he cared about her well being, on July 23rd Owens said, "That is absolutely true.  We care about Iris and we want to see her back in her home.  We have never wanted Iris Canada's home, We have never wanted Iris Canada's money."

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When asked about the Superior Court judge's ruling that Canada pay him for his own attorney's fees totaling $164,000 based on his demand, Owens replied, "That is not correct. We never asked for any money. It was Iris Canada's attorney's that asked for relief from the forfeiture the court had ordered.  But state law says that the relief MUST be tied to making the plaintiff whole. That was what the judge ordered—we did not demand it or ask for it. But we have never wanted her money, only her cooperation."

According to Canada's family and witnesses, Canada has been harassed by occupants from the other apartment units turned into condos. The alleged harrasment comes in the form of loud pounding on her front door and banging on the walls.  When this reporter asked Owens whether he heard about this harrasment and what his response was, Owens stated, "I have no direct knowledge of any harassment."

When asked about Canada's supporters' view that Owens' efforts to evict her are part of the gentrification in San Francisco, one that has seen its African American community decline, Owens stated, "We could have evicted Iris Canada in 2003. We did not. Instead, because she was an elderly woman on a fixed income that had lived in the building for many decades, we figured out how to keep her in her home for the rest of her life for $700/mo. That was worked to prevent displacement not promote it. As I have said until I am blue in the face, we do not want to evict Iris."

The California Association for Retired Persons (CARA), which consists of 65,000 members, has stood with Iris Canada to make sure that she is not evicted.  CARA called efforts to evict Canada unwarranted, a form of elder abuse, among other things.  When this reporter asked Owens what he thought of CARA's claims, Owens answered, "I think those characterizations are unfair and uninformed.  Far from elder abuse or discrimination, would not any reasonable person conclude we are acting with great care and concern for Ms. Canada's welfare?"

In September, Tommi Avicola Mecca, a counselor at the Housing Rights Committee in San Francisco, stated, "If he (Owens) isn't trying to evict her (Iris Canada) and he cares so much for her, why has he gone forward with getting the court order? Why is he giving her until the end of the month to sign the agreement or he's going to evict?  His actions speak louder than his words."

On September 13, Canada was rushed to San Francisco General Hospital Emergency Room and hospitalized, after seeing an eviction notice posted at her apartment door. Canada is now back at her home.

Zaragoza, Canada's lawyer, has been going to the San Francisco Superior Court numerous times in September and October, asking the judge to issue stays of eviction. The judge has granted the stays, each of which lasts for seven days.

One of the remaining questions is: Can Peter Owens and his family and Iris Canada and her family come to a mutually agreeable settlement that allows Canada to live at her home in peace, a settlement in which the interests of both sides are taken into account and acknowledged?

Also, how will the judicial system address the remaining issues in this case, a case that involves a 100 year old San Francisco woman who has lived at her home for over four decades?

Tommi Avicola Mecca stated recently, "I think it's obvious that the only right thing to do in this case is to let Iris Canada stay in her home for the rest of her life.  That's all she wants.  She is 100.  Let her be."

Where this story of David and Goliath will end is not known yet.

Iris Canada, 100 years old, continues to battle on.

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Anh Lê is an independent journalist in San Francisco.

Anh Lê
San Francisco, CA

415 912-0030 (Cell)

AnhLe213@yahoo.com

(Copyright Anh Lê November 2016)

Also posted in Wright Enterprises Community Spotlight Newsletter:
http://www.wrightnow.biz/articles_view.asp?articleid=8243...