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Jan 14, 2009 9:02 pm US/Central
Man Sues Cockrell Hill After Crews Clear Garden
Reporting
Jack Fink
COCKRELL HILL (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
A bitter legal battle is brewing in Cockrell Hill.
The garden Donald Dorward says he and his son have planted for 40 years isn't much of anything now.
Home video shows city crews clearing much of his garden out after Christmas. He says crews came in without warning.
"I'm just shook up because if they can do it to this, they can do it to anything," he said.
The trees, shrubs and plants were all put into a giant dumpster.
"If this is the guise of beautification, it's not beautification to me," he said.
Now he's filed a federal lawsuit against the city claiming they denied him his due process. He says he also wants the city to replace what's lost.
The city cited him last May, claiming his garden was overgrown and a nuisance. City records show that in September, crews posted a sign on the property requiring it to be cleaned up in ten days.
Dorward's son says he did clean it up, but then in October the city cited Dorward again.
Dorward's attorney filed a not guilty plea, and says he never received prior notification about the clearing of his property. His trial is set for April.
Dorward has a message for the city.
"Just play by the rules," he said. "I own a lot of property in Cockrell Hill. I am not opposed to code enforcement, but I am opposed to picking on anybody."
Dorward is also asking a federal judge to prevent the city from removing the dumpster filled with remnants from his garden.
"They want to destroy the evidence," said Dorward's attorney, Robert Brunig. "We want it to defend ourselves."
The city says it won't comment while the case is in court.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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