FLDS, couple wage property dispute in court

COLORADO CITY, Ariz. — Late Tuesday night, after spending the day in court fighting an eviction notice, Ross and Lori Chatwin went back to sleep in the house they still call home — for now.

"I think it (the hearing) went OK," Chatwin said Wednesday. The five-hour drive back to Colorado City from Kingman, Ariz., topped off a long day in Mohave County Superior Court where Chatwin testified he should be allowed to live in the home even though he doesn't own it.

The house's owner, The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has the legal right to request Chatwin's removal, church attorney Ron Parker said.

"This is a property rights case, and Ross Chatwin clearly doesn't own this property," said Parker, pointing out that Chatwin did not purchase the lot or build the frame house where he has lived for three years.

Chatwin, a 35-year-old father of six, lives in the basement of a green frame house. Chatwin's brother and his family live upstairs.

A March 18 telephone conference has been scheduled to resolve questions over subpoenas Chatwin's attorney Joan Dudley attempted to serve on FLDS leader Warren Jeffs, former FLDS bishop Fred Jessop and ousted FLDS member Nephi Barlow just two days before the hearing. Jeffs and Jessop live in Hildale, Utah, while Barlow no longer lives at his Colorado City home.

Judge James Chavez will set a date for closing arguments at that time, said Parker.

The FLDS Church owns much of the land and buildings in Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City through a charitable legal trust called The United Effort Plan. Faithful FLDS men are assigned houses or lots on UEP land on which to build a house.

Under the UEP trust, those who occupy church-owned property are considered tenants at will and must remain in good standing in order to enjoy such benefits. Most residents of the two towns that blend across the Utah/Arizona border are members of the FLDS Church and practice polygamy as a central tenet of their faith. Houses are often large with multiple entrances and levels in order to accommodate a man who has several wives and many children.

Those who defy FLDS doctrine or church leaders are excommunicated and served an eviction notice, which most obey without question. But in recent years, several former members have fought back in court, winning the right to live in their houses for life or be compensated for improvements they made to UEP property.