Judge rules ex-FLDS man must pay to evict his brother
 
By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News
 
ST. GEORGE — Ross Chatwin found out Friday what it's going to take to kick his younger brother's family out of a house the two families share in the polygamous Arizona town of Colorado City — and it could be about $23,000, according to an Arizona judge.

Mohave County Superior Court Judge James Chavez ruled this week it would be "inequitable" for Chatwin to take possession of the upper level of the house without compensating his brother, Steven, for improvements he made.

"This decision by Judge Chavez is consistent with other decisions he has made regarding trust property," said Rod Parker, attorney for the home's landowner, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its United Effort Plan Trust.

Ross Chatwin and his wife, Lori, live in the basement of the house with their six children, while Steven Chatwin lives in the upper level with his wife and children. The men moved into the house at separate times under the direction of FLDS church leaders.

But Ross Chatwin's excommunication one year ago led to an eviction notice issued by the trust, and the 36-year-old's refusal to move sent the case to court. Chavez ruled the trust could not evict Ross Chatwin without compensating him for improvements he made to another piece of church property, which Chatwin said is close to $130,000.

"Well, I don't have a problem with that (the decision)," Ross Chatwin said Friday after hearing of the judge's ruling. "I think what we'll do now is weigh all our options and then make a careful decision. We're going to do the smartest thing possible."

Among his options, said Ross Chatwin, is to challenge any amount his brother may say he invested in the upstairs portion of the home.

"I don't want to just pay some amount that Steven says; he's going to have to prove it," said Ross Chatwin. "We could also pull a permit to add onto the house. We just don't have enough room."

The FLDS Church owns most of the land in Hildale, Washington County, and in Colorado City, its virtual twin just across the Utah/Arizona line. Most residents of the two towns belong to the FLDS Church, which preaches polygamy as a central tenet.

Men considered worthy by church leaders are assigned a piece of trust land on which to build a house. All members are considered tenants at will and can be evicted if they leave the church or fail to follow its teachings, according to UEPT documents.
 
deseretnews.com
Originally published Saturday, December 4, 2004
 
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