BURLINGTON — A judge dismissed a lawsuit against the city of Burlington related to the clearing of an encampment on Sears Lane in 2021, but those behind the suit will have an opportunity to reopen the case.
Attorneys representing the city were at a status conference held in Chittenden County Superior Civil court Tuesday morning, but no plaintiffs or anyone representing them attended.
Judge Helen Toor dismissed the case, but said she would allow 14 days for plaintiffs to file to reopen it, according to her written ruling.
Reached by phone on Tuesday afternoon, one of the two campers to bring the lawsuit, Grey Barreda, said “we absolutely will be continuing.”
Barreda said he missed the hearing due to his ongoing struggles while living without permanent shelter, including living outside overnight from Monday into Tuesday, but insisted that “this case is very important to us.”
The encampment on Sears Lane was razed by the city in the fall of 2021. Campers there were ordered to clear out despite a lawsuit filed by Barreda and another camper, Alexus Grundy, who represented themselves in court.
A court previously allowed other campers to join the lawsuit. Sixteen people were listed as plaintiffs in court filings.
The suit brought by Barreda and Grundy initially aimed to halt the clearing of the encampment. That effort failed in court, but the suit was allowed to continue last March when a judge invited the plaintiffs to amend their complaint to seek damages from the city.
During Tuesday’s status hearing, Toor asked attorney Sean Toohey, who is representing the city, whether he heard from any plaintiffs. Toohey said he had previously received emails from Barreda, but hadn’t received a response in the past two weeks regarding the scheduled conference.
The clearing of the encampment angered Burlington City Council Progressives, who objected to the sudden closure of the site and the impact it had on people who were living there. Before the campers left, as many as 30 people lived at the site in 2021.
To justify clearing the site, Mayor Miro Weinberger pointed to concerns from former Burlington Fire Chief Steven Locke about fire hazards at the site from heating sources during the winter.
