Ten-year ordeal ends with court ruling for Francis

Passamaquoddy Tribal Court Judge Rebecca Irving issued a decision on March 3 in favor of Pamela Francis in a lawsuit she brought in 2002 against the Pleasant Point Passamaquoddy Housing Authority for breaking into her residence and damaging her property in February 1998. Irving found that the housing authority's action constituted "a trespass, conversion of property and an illegal eviction." In the decision, the former housing authority director is awarded $10,462 for damages, including $10,000 for emotional distress. Francis had also sought a judgment settling the title to the house, and the court ordered the housing authority to give Francis the deed once she has paid $3,048.60, the remainder of the $35,000 purchase price.

"It's been a real emotional roller coaster," says Francis of the 10-year ordeal of claims and counterclaims to settle the issue. She is "not really happy" even though the decision favors her. "It's just been a real long haul. I've had to go through a lot to get here." Francis, who is living in Old Orchard Beach, plans to finish her purchase of the house, although she is unsure about moving back to Pleasant Point.

Clayton Cleaves, executive director of the housing authority, declines to comment on the decision at this point, since he says Francis is appealing the decision. Francis says she is only appealing the court's decision not to cover the costs of her attorney fees. The court also decided that the housing authority is immune from punitive damages. Francis says she has $275,000 in pending attorney fees, and she estimates that the housing authority's attorney fees are in excess of a million dollars. Although insurance may cover the amount for the housing authority, Francis says that the members of the insurance risk pool, which includes Native American housing projects, will end up paying the cost. She blames tribal government leaders for allowing the case to continue, as she says they were asked to consider a settlement of the lawsuit.

Francis adds, "This has not been about the money at all." She says she did not want to deplete the housing authority's funds or erode the sovereignty of her tribe; she had only wanted a finding that the housing authority was wrong in its actions against her.

Irving, in her decision, ruled that Francis's father, Edward Bassett Sr., had validly executed a Turnkey III Agreement with Francis for the house and that she was and remains the designated successor to the agreement. The housing authority had been embroiled in a dispute with Francis over her ownership interest in the house. The judge found that the housing authority clearly violated the provisions of the Passamaquoddy Fair Housing Code when, "without any legal basis, it kicked down a door to plaintiff's residence and removed 10 pickup truck loads of personal property." The decision states, "Rather than use appropriate legal procedures mandated by its own policies and procedures, as well as federal regulations, to seek resolution of its issues with plaintiff, it unilaterally chose to use an egregious method of self-help. In doing so, it completely ignored the tenets of the Passamaquoddy Fair Housing Code, violating plaintiff's rights as a tenant/homebuyer in the process. It is conceivable the housing authority may have initially believed Unit 25 was in need of being 'secured' because of 'partying' but it failed to inspect the premises prior to ordering its employees to 'secure' the building. It is not credible that the housing authority continued to believe Unit 25 required some type of 'securing' after it was made aware that all doors were locked; there were no broken windows or other means of entry into the unit; that furniture and plants were observed in the unit and there were no signs of vandalism or damage to the unit."

Francis also has a lawsuit pending in Superior Court, in which she is suing the five housing authority commissioners who were in office in 1998 and the executive director at that time, Colleen Dana-Cummings. That lawsuit asserts violations of the Maine Civil Rights Act, trespass, illegal entry and eviction. The case has been appealed three times to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court over the question of whether the state court system has jurisdiction in the dispute. Under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, the tribal court has exclusive jurisdiction over cases that are considered internal tribal matters.

Earlier actions filed by the housing authority in district court -- to evict Francis and to divide ownership of the property -- were dismissed. In addition, in 2002 a settlement between the housing authority and Francis over her termination as executive director was upheld.