Neighbors of Filthy Home Win New Damages

For the second time in three years, the Huntington Harbour neighbors of a Cal State Long Beach professor have won a major monetary award for the emotional distress they say they have suffered because of the rubbish-strewn and malodorous state of the professor’s home.

A Municipal Court judge who had taken the unusual step of conducting an on-the-spot investigation of the home awarded 33 residents of upscale Huntington Harbour judgments totaling $146,500.

One of the complainants said he hoped the latest awards, coming on top of 1994 awards totaling $140,000, would put them in a position to force the woman into a foreclosure sale of the house.

For nearly 15 years, neighbors have complained of human waste dumped in Elena Zagustin’s yard, six-foot weeds around the property and numerous other health and fire code violations. Zagustin, a civil engineering professor at Cal State Long Beach, has denied that there has been anything amiss.

Within the last week, Zagustin’s home was boarded up by Huntington Beach fire and code enforcement officials, who found sufficient evidence in the city’s own investigation to declare hazardous conditions.

Judge Mary Fingal Erickson viewed photographs of the property and heard a litany of complaints from neighbors about its condition at hearings Nov. 10 and Monday before making her decision.

When the judge tried to inspect the property, she was able to view it only from a surrounding fence because Zagustin was not there at the time the judge had told her she wanted to see the property.

“The evidence by various plaintiffs shows they wanted her to clean it up, but she failed to do so,” Erickson said. “The Zagustin premises are offensive and caused residents mental distress and annoyance.”

“This is a victory, but this is not about the money,” said David Flynn, who lives across the street from Zagustin and has spearheaded the neighborhood effort. “We’ve been dealing with this for too long. We want her out.”

Monday’s hearing was the culmination of the second round of complaints against Zagustin in Small Claims Court, where damages sought cannot exceed $5,000 and to speed proceedings neither party may be represented in court by an attorney.

Three years ago, 24 neighbors--some of them the same complainants in the latest court action--won similar judgments totaling $140,000.

The neighbors say they plan to keep filing $5,000 claims against Zagustin until the judgments they obtain total more than she can pay and she is forced to sell the property.

“Elena is a resourceful individual and has a lot of money stockpiled somewhere,” Flynn said. “If we have to go to court a third, fourth or fifth time, we will do so.”

The judgments from the first round of claims remain unpaid. Zagustin transferred her properties to a living trust and has filed for bankruptcy four times.

Brian Simon, a Los Angeles attorney representing the neighbors, said a Superior Court judge ruled last week that residents could collect the earlier judgments from Zagustin regardless of what name the properties are under.

“The bankruptcies delayed matters for several years, but now we will be moving toward a marshal’s sale to recover the judgments,” he said.

Zagustin showed up 20 minutes after Monday’s session had ended, saying she had a previous commitment that had prevented her from attending.

When asked what she thought of the ruling, the 61-year-old woman said, “I don’t know. The house is clean.” She declined further comment as she left court. She has 30 days to appeal the decision.

Conditions at the home and other dwellings she has owned in Orange County first received official attention in 1988 when authorities removed Zagustin’s ailing father, sealed her home and jailed her on an outstanding warrant for code violations at a Santa Ana property.

“I’ve been living next door to her for 23 years, and the place is a dump,” said Karen Goulette, one of the plaintiffs. “I don’t allow my 14-month-old son to play near the home. It’s a fire hazard.”