A RETIRED couple were hit with $1 million in fines less than a week after moving into their new home.
A lawsuit filed in 2022 took aim at the actions of the previous owner — and about 1,200 other owners in the area — that caught the couple in the crossfire.
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“We lost our home of 35 years in the wildfires,” said Doug Thomas Daily Mail from the California home he shared with his wife, Corinne.
The loss of their home in the 2018 Woolsey Fire forced the couple into an RV.
They then bought another house three years later – but their problems only continued to grow.
Both disabled, Corrine and Doug were dismayed to discover that the previous owner of their new home was using the property to illegally grow cannabis.
Because of the previous owner’s actions, the Thomases faced more than $1 million in fines owed to Humboldt County authorities.
“Obviously we’re not involved in cannabis,” Doug told the Daily Mail.
“We don’t even drink alcohol. We’re just elderly. The county knows this, but they still come after us,” he continued.
“They are at war with the community.”
But they are not alone in their situation.
Fellow retiree Rhonda Olson, 64, was fined more than $7 million, while Blu Graham, 51, faced $900,000 in charges.
All charges stem from cannabis-related code violations that were enacted after the drug was legalized for personal use in 2018.
At least 48 homeowners have appealed the charges against them, according to attorney Jared McClain who, along with the Institute for Justice, is leading the case.
McClain said Humboldt County acknowledged that the new owners did not grow cannabis, according to the Daily Mail.
However, McClain also said the county’s position is such that the current owners have inherited previous problems on their respective properties.
For the Thomases, a detached garage classified as a workshop was used to grow the plants, according to the municipality.
The couple were told they had 12 days to demolish the building – otherwise they would be charged fees of $12,000 per day.
We don’t even drink alcohol. We are just old people. The county knows this, but they still come after us.
Douglas Thomas
But because they didn’t have the funds to remove the barn, the fees rose to more than $1 million, according to the Daily Mail.
O lawsuit McClain is leading allegations that Humboldt County “makes accused landowners wait indefinitely for an administrative decision
hearing.”
“The county’s code enforcement policy was designed to extract every possible dollar from legal marijuana, often at the expense of innocent people,” the lawsuit continues.
As a result, owners like the Thomases, Olson and Graham suffered.
A decision on the case is pending.
“I have been waiting for four years to go to court with seven million fines hanging over my head, and I could not be more moved by the line of questioning from the judges of the Ninth Circuit, United States Court of Appeals. ” Olson said. local journalist Nichole Norris in April.
“If it weren’t for our brilliant lawyers, Jared McClain and Robert Johnson at the Institute for Justice, we would simply have to accept what Humboldt County is doing to us.”
Douglas Thomas agreed.
“If we lose this, we lose everything.”
The US Sun has reached out to McClain, Humboldt County and the Institute for Justice for comment.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
