O.C. Woman Gets Jail for Messy Home

A college professor who for 14 years defied demands that she clean up her garbage-ridden Huntington Harbour home was sentenced to three months in jail Tuesday by a judge who threatened even harsher action if she doesn’t comply with health and safety codes.

The stiff sentence, considered exceedingly unusual for a code violation case, caps a long-running legal battle between Elena Zagustin and her neighbors over the rubbish-filled, vermin-infested home that has become a national symbol of neighborhood discord.

Experts said the case highlights the delicate balance between a homeowner’s right to privacy and a community’s ability to make sure private property is clean and safe.

“The idea of putting someone in jail for this would be shocking,” said Huntington Beach City Atty. Gail Hutton. “But the fact is when we’re faced with an extraordinary case of intransigent behavior, drastic measures have to be taken.”

In reaching his decision, Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert H. Gallivan expressed frustration with Zagustin, a professor of civil engineering at Cal State Long Beach.

“The court is confused by your apparent intelligence and education, and yet your inability to comply with zoning ordinances,” said Gallivan.

He gave Zagustin one month to comply with orders to repair substandard plumbing, remove piles of accumulated trash and stop overloading extension cords before her jail term starts Feb. 5. He also sentenced Zagustin to three years’ probation, fined her $200, and ordered her to get a psychiatric evaluation.

If Zagustin does not make the repairs, Gallivan said she could face even more time behind bars. The 69 charges that a jury convicted her of in November carry a maximum sentence of five years in jail.

Zagustin spoke only briefly during the hearing, saying she wants to comply but has been stymied by city officials. Afterward, Zagustin, as well as her attorney, Charles Mullis, refused to comment. In the past, she has accused neighbors and city officials of conspiring against her.

The sentence is the latest ruling in a more than decade-long courtroom saga that has cost the city and residents more than $100,000 in investigation and attorney fees. The case has also resulted in a flurry of lawsuits and prompted city officials to form a team designed to identify unkept homes.

The standoff gained national attention earlier this year when it was featured on a CBS “48 Hours” program about feuding neighbors.

Several neighbors who attended the court proceeding said the sentence was far too lenient, adding that there was no assurance that her house would ever be cleaned up.

“I’m not impressed at all. It’s the same old, same old,” said David Flynn, who lives across the street from Zagustin. “It doesn’t go far enough. We’ve been through this several times.”

Neighbors have complained for years that Zagustin’s home is infested with insects and rodents and filled with trash as well as buckets of human waste. They said the filth poses safety risks to them. A group of more than 30 residents won about $300,000 in civil cases against Zagustin, but they have yet to collect any money.

Legal experts said the jail sentence marks a course of last resort for officials unable to get a homeowner to comply with building and safety codes.

Zagustin, they said, has a right to do what she wants within her own home, but not if it threatens the safety and health of others.

“Our society tolerates a wide latitude of eccentricity in terms of lifestyle,” said Robert Pugsley, a professor at Southwestern University School of Law.

“But this is not a question of letting the lawn grow up over your house, or painting the walls orange,” he added. “When the lifestyle spills over into a position of threatening the health and safety of neighbors, a line has to be drawn.”

Most code violations are corrected by property owners without any legal action. Cities can impose fines on those who refuse to comply or do the improvements themselves and charge the homeowner. Experts said it is extremely rare if not unprecedented for a homeowner to spend more than a few days in jail for code violations.

Neighbors said Zagustin has shrewdly avoided compliance all these years by filing a flurry of frivolous lawsuits and legal motions. Prior to announcing his sentence, Gallivan dismissed about one dozen motions that Zagustin had filed in the days leading up to the hearing, calling most of them “unintelligible.”