FARMINGTON — A Jay man and his mother have filed a lawsuit against the town of Jay, a former selectperson, Franklin County and two businesses over items removed from properties on East Dixfield Road in 2015.
The named parties were sent notices of intent to file for claims under the Maine Tort Claims Act for $400,000 in December 2015.
Darren Pollis and his mother, Carol Dolbier of Missouri, representing the heirs of Leroy Pollis, filed the nine-count complaint in June in Franklin County Superior Court. The suit does not ask for specific dollar amounts for damages, costs and attorney fees.
All parties named in the suit submitted answers to the complaint in June and July. The parties denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the complaint. The court deadline to file discovery is March 10, 2018.
The town of Jay, under a District Court order, had cars, trash, debris and tires removed from Leroy Pollis’ properties, which abut each other, to bring the properties into compliance with junkyard and automobile graveyard laws and a town ordinance, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said in June 2015. She said it ended a costly 16-year legal battle between the owners and the town
Skidder tires were exempted, according to a November 2013 court order.
Another court order issued in January 2015 awarded Jay its costs to abate the “nuisance” on the Pollis’ properties along with attorney fees and costs.
Darren Pollis claimed in June 2015 that the town went too far and removed more than the court order allowed, including items in a storage trailer, exempt items including ATVs, and commercial and antique vehicles but left some items that were supposed to be removed.
The counts listed in the lawsuit are:
* Trespassing: The claim is that the properties were intentionally entered without permission and were damaged;
* Conversion: for taking possession of the personal property to which the Pollises claim they had the right;
* Violations of constitutional and civil rights under the Maine and United States Constitutions, including claims that Darren Pollis was denied access to his property when it was “unconstitutionally taken or stolen from him by defendants;”
* Abuse of process: The claim is that the town of Jay misused the process of the District Court to recover costs for its “illegal and improper” activities;
* Negligent and intentional infliction of emotional stress, and a request that punitive damages be awarded.
During the cleanup of properties, Jay police, Franklin County deputies and other law enforcement and several friends of the Pollises and onlookers were present. A Franklin County deputy arrested a Canton man on charges of disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. According to the lawsuit, the arrest came after he made comments critical of the conduct of law enforcement officers.
An attorney for Franklin County denied in the answer to the complaint that that was the reason for the arrest.
The parties being sued in addition to the town, former Jay Selectperson Justin Merrill, and the county are M.C. Disposal Inc., doing business as Central Maine Disposal in Fairfield, which the town hired at a cost of $15,000 to clear the property, and Clark’s Cars and Parts based in Farmingdale, in connection to vehicles removed from the property.
Because Merrill was a town official at the time, he is covered in Jay’s answer to the court.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
Jay police and town officials and friends of the Pollis family stand by during a court-ordered cleanup of “junk” at two adjacent properties on Route 17, also known as East Dixfield Road, in North Jay that are owned by Darren Pollis and the heirs of Leroy Pollis, Darren’s father, on June 17, 2015.
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