Lawyers, Judge Spar Over House Conversion
The case of a man accused by the Town of East Hampton of illegally converting a single-family house at 5 Hoover Court in Montauk into a multiple-dwelling residence is headed to a jury trial, following a contentious exchange on Monday between his attorney, the town’s, and East Hampton Town Justice Lisa R. Rana.
After inspecting the house last July, ordinance enforcement officers brought 21 charges against Eliot Ferguson, who purchased it with his wife, Jennifer Sample, for $1.15 million in 2012. According to documents on file at Justice Court, inspectors alleged that the couple had created bedrooms having no legal way out in case of fire, including a child’s room with bars on the windows, and had added an illegal second kitchen as well as an additional bathroom. A number of the charges are classified as misdemeanors under town code, including lacking building permits and certificates of occupancy; others are violations of state fire code laws regulating safety in residences.
The property, a little under a half-acre, fronts both Hoover Court and Tyler Road. From Tyler Road, a long driveway leads up a hill to the house, which has a two-car garage and a parking area that can hold several more cars. Just off the street on the Hoover Court side there is another parking area, which can accommodate another five or six vehicles.
The case was adjourned several times, during which time a warrant was issued for Mr. Ferguson’s arrest for failure to appear in court; it was voided when he showed up the next time. After that, Thomas Horn, who was then the couple’s lawyer, negotiated a conditional discharge with the town. The couple would pay a fine and the matter would be closed, as long as there were no other violations. However, as a condition for the settlement, the town demanded a new inspection take place.
Weeks, then months, went by, without the inspection happening. When it finally did, in late March, the owners were not present. Mr. Horn, however, was.
According to the town, the new inspection showed that almost nothing had changed. Almost all the original charges were filed again, plus a few new ones. Mr. Ferguson now faces a total of 44 charges.
Mr. Horn’s presence at the house during that inspection, Justice Rana told him last month, made him a potential witness in the case. Lawrence Kelly, who has worked with Mr. Horn on other cases here, replaced him.
On Monday, after entering a not-guilty plea on behalf of Mr. Ferguson, who was not in the courtroom, Mr. Kelly referred to the second inspection as “court-ordered.”
“Excuse me, I beg to differ,” Justice Rana interrupted. “If the people are requiring [an inspection] as part of a disposition, that is the people’s requirement.”
“The reason for the re-inspection is that the defendant’s previous attorney, Mr. Horn, said the defendant was now compliant,” said the lawyer for the town, NancyLynn Thiele. “The inspection was at the request of Mr. Horn in order to resolve his client’s case. It was not that the court ordered it, or the people demanded it, but that it was at the request of Mr. Horn, who actually scheduled the inspection.”
Justice Rana was not finished with Mr. Kelly. “For you to come in here and state that it is the court that requires it, with all due respect, is 100 percent incorrect. I’m not going to allow that to stand.”
Mr. Kelly then requested that an independent prosecutor to be appointed to replace Ms. Thiele, saying the town attorney’s office had a conflict of interest.
“That is a fact or issue of law which you can make a motion for,” Justice Rana responded. “As of right now, I don’t believe there are any motions in this case. At least make a motion that you believe that there is something remiss. In the meantime, I will set this down for a jury trial.”
Also arraigned during Monday’s zoning court session was Leslie M. Cooper, the owner of a house at 105 Springs-Fireplace Road in East Hampton, along with eight co-defendants, all living in the house when it was raided in March after the town obtained a search warrant.
Hope De Lauter, an attorney for the town, told the court that Ms. Cooper had agreed to plead guilty to 10 of the 17 fire code and town ordinance violations with which she was charged, in return for a conditional discharge and a fine of $10,000. The exact terms will be negotiated before her next court appearance, on July 11.
The others arraigned were Carmen Rocio Yamba Tenezaca, 30, Jaimo Uzcha Namina, 31, Wilson Guillca-Satian, 30, Melida Yamba Tenezaca, 33, Jose Donaie, 40, Angel Uzcha, 32, Angel Maza-Namina, 32, and Rafael Felix Llauri, 23. Mancayo Arnulfo Rivera, 27, who was also charged, was not listed on Monday’s calendar.
Most of the tenants have since moved, several of them to Flanders. Ms. Cooper, who lives in Amityville, said after court let out that she had rented the house to a couple with a young child and had no idea they were bringing in additional tenants.