Judge Dismisses Homeowner’s Lawsuit, Orders Her to Pay Neighbors
Elena Zagustin, involved in a decade-long feud over conditions of her Huntington Harbour home, lost another legal round this week when a Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit she filed against her neighbors.
Zagustin, 61, a professor of civil engineering at Cal State Long Beach, had filed a $7-million lawsuit against 33 of her neighbors.
Superior Court Judge Ronald Kline dismissed the case, saying Zagustin failed to seek permission to file legal motions as ordered by the court this month when she was deemed a “vexatious litigant.”
Kline also ruled that Zagustin used the lawsuit to retaliate against her neighbors.
The judge ordered Zagustin to pay the neighbors $2,710. She owes her neighbors about $300,000 from other court rulings over the years.
Zagustin’s home was boarded up last month by Huntington Beach officials for numerous code violations.
She also faces 92 misdemeanor counts of neglecting the property.
She has pleaded innocent to the charges.
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