The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Christmas House owner still fighting to stay
With an eviction notice looming, new lawyer, residents remain
TORRINGTON — Ron Merriman plans to decorate his house with red hearts for Valentine’s Day.
With an eviction notice looming, the co-owner of the Christmas House at 285-287 Main St. said Monday that he expects to fight the legal action and stay in the house.
He said his new attorney, Lou Martocchio, of Southington told him “they would save my house,” which was sold in a foreclosure auction in early November for $22,000.
Merriman, along with his mother, Alice, who is 87, and his sister, Donna, are named in the court documents as co-owners.
Martocchio is the second attorney to take the foreclosure case. According to Merriman, his new attorney isn’t charging him for the legal work.
Martocchio couldn’t be reached for comment.
According to court documents, the family is facing an “execution for ejectment,” which is a type of eviction. The action was ordered Nov. 19, but Superior Court Judge Dan Shaban stated in the order that no eviction would be granted prior to Jan. 1.
“The defendant has had well over a year to seek alternatives to foreclosure through both the assistance of the court, and individually, but has been unsuccessful. Even with the ability to do so, he has failed to actively market the property himself. The defendant has failed to cooperate with the committee which, had he done so, might otherwise have helped secure a higher purchase price for the property,” Shaban said in the Nov. 19 order.
“The defendant also was provided multiple opportunities by the court to engage in mediation even outside the statutory mediation period. Notably, by choosing to use his limited available funds for his annual (Christmas) electrical display, the defendant has accelerated his inability to be eligible for options that might otherwise stave off foreclosure,” Shaban wrote.
Once the ejection paperwork is filed, state statutes require the action to be reviewed by the court clerk’s office. The plaintiff (the Merriman family) is allowed to choose the state marshal who would serve the document.
State Marshal Arthur Quinn III of Thomaston served the foreclosure document last fall, but he said Monday, that he, or another marshal “won’t be involved until the order is filed.”
The Merrimans have lived in the two-family house since 1981, Ron Merriman said. He started the Christmas light display the next year.
Donna Merriman said Monday that she is considering where she will live next, when the ejection order is filed. She said she’s put her name on a waiting list at a few locations that provide low-income housing.