EAST ST. LOUIS – Chief U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel spared an Illinois River cabin from destruction by the Army Corps of Engineers and gave the owners a free lawyer.
She issued a restraining order for Nicole Castleberry and daughter Kayla Benoit of Missouri on July 16, and two weeks later extended it to Sept. 28.
She appointed attorney Emily Johnson of Alton to represent them on a pro bono basis.
Castleberry and Benoit own a cabin on a peninsula where Otter Creek empties into the Illinois River, near Nutwood in Jersey County.
The Corps owns the ground and charges them $275 every six months.
The Corps started renting land for cabins on the Mississippi and Illinois rivers 70 years ago, but has pursued a gradual plan to reclaim its ground.
Benoit and Castleberry sued the Corps on July 14, on a pro se complaint form.
Castleberry gave an address in Elsberry, and Benoit gave one in Florissant.
On a space for amount in controversy they wrote, “Losing the property would be a huge financial hit.”
On a space for statement of claim, they wrote that a neighbor saw Corps personnel at the cabin on June 15.
They wrote that the neighbor found a lease termination notice.
They wrote that Castleberry moved and had mail forwarded.
“The letters the Corps stated they mailed were never forwarded,” they wrote. “Urgent Restraining Order Reinstatement of Lease.”
Rosenstengel enjoined destruction on July 16, finding Benoit and Castleberry asserted that they offered to pay overdue rent.
She found it in the public interest to let them proceed, considering the Corps terminated the lease for failure to pay a mere $275.
She set the order to expire July 30, and she set a hearing July 29.
On July 27, assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan Stump moved to dissolve the order and dismiss the complaint.
Stump wrote that Benoit and Castleberry effectively terminated the lease.
He wrote that they acquired the lease in 2017, with Corps approval, and payments were typically late.
He wrote that the Corps sent notices in February, March, and April.
He wrote that the Corps sent Castleberry a termination notice on May 6, giving her until June 6 to remove personal property.
“Even if the Postal Service is partly to blame for not forwarding plaintiffs’ mail as directed, plaintiffs did not need to receive any statements or notices from the Corps to know that their rent was due,” Stump wrote.
He wrote that the lease provided for resolution of disputes by the district engineer, whose decisions can be appealed to the division engineer.
Rosenstengel heard argument and extended the injunction for 60 days, to provide time for Johnson to respond to the Corps.
She set a Sept. 8 deadline for Johnson and Sept. 15 for any reply from Stump.
She wrote that she had no authority to pay Johnson but could provide a degree of reimbursement for expenses out of pocket.
She waived the filing fee but stated that Benoit and Castleberry would be obligated to pay it if they recover damages by verdict or settlement.
Their cabin stands about four miles north of Pere Marquette State Park.
A dirt road runs along Otter Creek to the cabins, which stand on stilts.
No one answered a knock at Castleberry and Benoit’s door on Sunday, Aug. 1, but a visitor could read the case docket and pertinent emails on the inner door.
Neighbors knew about Rosenstengel’s order and they liked it.
Steve Jones, the neighbor who saw Corps personnel at the cabin, said Castleberry and Benoit couldn’t believe how quickly the court acted.
He said owners can’t live there year round.
He said he owns a home in Fieldon and goes there, “when it gets around zero.”
Terry Carmean of Godfrey said, “They want to get rid of all 11 of us.”
Grass on the empty spaces looks as neat as grass at the cabins, only because somebody breaks a rule.
Carmean said, “They come out here and want to know, who cut that grass?
“They tell us, you can’t cut that. It’s not your lot. They don’t care about snakes. They don’t care about bugs.”