SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has thrown out a lawsuit against Salt Lake City over homelessness.
In a ruling handed down on Wednesday, 3rd District Court Judge Andrew Stone dismissed a lawsuit filed by nine people who alleged the city was creating a "nuisance" by not enforcing anti-camping laws.
One of the nine plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Scott Evans, the owner of Euro Treasures Antiques in downtown Salt Lake City.
"Last summer, we had as many as 70 people living on the side of the building at any given time," said Evans, "Including going to the bathroom, drug use, a lot of — well the simple things, garbage."
"They allege that the City has chosen to allow 'the unsheltered to engage in public camping' and that this amounts to 'a public nuisance for which the City is liable,'" Judge Stone wrote.
Salt Lake City asked the lawsuit to be dismissed, arguing that the plaintiffs' claims are barred by Utah's public duty doctrine and they presented "political questions" not suited for the courts. In his ruling, Judge Stone indicated his agreement.
"...Plaintiffs' counsel argued that their claims go beyond illegal activity and encompass other harms such as odor and obstruction of walkways. Yet, their... allegations convey that the inadequacy of police protection and enforcement is their primary context," he wrote.
The judge went on to write: "Any given member of the public might complain about how a city allocates its resources, and many such complaints could be articulated under the broad umbrella of nuisance law. The public duty doctrine places limits on when such complaints may be litigated in the courts as opposed to the ballot box."
"Instead of just throwing it out, I think it should go through the due process and explore what the issues are and why the lawsuit was brought to bear," said Evans.
While the lawsuit has been dropped, Evans says he believes it brought a fair amount of pressure on the city to do something now when it comes to homelessness.
Wendy Garvin is the executive director of Unsheltered Utah, a local nonprofit that she says is dedicated to assisting the people who specifically live on the street in tents.
"The last year, I believe we counted a little over 8,000 people served," said Garvin.
She says the decision by Judge Stone is a win.
"I think that it's a positive. We certainly don't want the courts coming in and making these rigid decisions," said Garvin.
Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's office said Wednesday it was pleased with the ruling. They issued the following statement:
"Salt Lake City appreciates the Court’s well-reasoned opinion and conclusion that this complicated and nuanced issue is best addressed by elected officials and policymakers, not the courts. We are also grateful for the court’s statement that, without minimizing the real harms business owners have suffered, it’s problematic to refer to unsheltered people as nuisances.
"We believe the Court’s acknowledgement of the humanity of the unsheltered community is an important distinction in this case. Salt Lake City will continue implementing additional resources and services for individuals experiencing homelessness with our partners at the local and state level.”
Mayor Mendenhall has argued that her administration is addressing homeless and affordable housing issues. The city recently struck a deal with state leaders to enforce anti-camping laws (something Governor Spencer Cox has pushed for) as long as there is bedspace in shelters.
On Wednesday, Gov. Cox held a ceremonial bill signing event in Tooele to call attention to legislation that deals with housing and homelessness. Some of the bills streamline bureaucracy for important social services, while others raise the threshold for opening emergency shelter space. Most importantly, the governor said, was millions in new money for homeless services.
The money the legislature appropriated was not as much as the governor requested, but he said it was significant.
"It gets us what we need to move forward. This is going to help us with the additional shelter space that we need, to stop the unsanctioned camping, get people off the streets, get them the help that they need and hold people accountable try to help those who are experiencing homelessness in our state right now," he said.
