Couple sues county over armed eviction

Accuse deputies of threats before kicking them off the property

A Kamiah couple who say they lived near Coeur d’Alene when they were kicked out of their house by armed deputies have filed a lawsuit against Kootenai County.

Karl and Stephanie Nelson said they lived at 6498 French Gulch Road and were in the process of transferring the deed when they were evicted last summer from the property without an eviction notice — also called a writ of restitution.

In a lawsuit filed against Kootenai County in Coeur d’Alene’s U.S. District Court, the Nelsons accuse deputies of threatening them before kicking them off the property north of Fernan Lake.

The couple is asking for undisclosed punitive damages.

Coeur d’Alene attorney Arthur Bistline, who represents the couple, said his clients had not been given timely notice, they had no opportunity to contest the eviction in court, and they were not shown a writ of restitution.

“You don’t just evict tenants … there is a process,” Bistline said. “They weren’t even tenants.”

Bistline said Stephanie Nelson worked for a railroad company, which has a short line between Jaype and Lewiston. The Nelsons had been given the house at French Gulch by the railroad after living there for several years, and the company was in the process of transferring the title when another railway employee filed a quit claim deed on the property.

The employee, Mike Williams of BG&CM Railroad, told deputies to evict Nelson.

According to the lawsuit filed June 10, the Nelsons came home to the French Gulch property last July or August and found it had been locked and their belongings had been placed outside.

A property manager who said he worked for Williams told them to leave the property and called deputies.

“When engaging with plaintiffs regarding vacating the property (a deputy) placed his hand on his firearm to demonstrate he intended to enforce his order that plaintiffs vacate the property,” according to the complaint.

Bistline said eviction law is clear cut and most tenants and law enforcement are trained in the basics, which include having a court order before conducting an eviction.

“When you don’t have one of those you don’t kick anyone off a property … ever,” he said.

The amount of damages will be determined at trial, according to the lawsuit. The Nelsons, if they prevail, are also asking that the county pay their attorney fees.