PORT ANGELES — A woman trespassed from the Port Angeles Senior Center for three years has filed a lawsuit against the city and several city employees.
The Kitsap Law Group filed a lawsuit on Nov. 12 on behalf of Lynn Ilon with defendants listed as the City of Port Angeles, city Parks & Recreation Director Corey Delikat, Senior Center Manager Carmen Geyer and up to five “John and Jane Does” calling them “yet-identified City of Port Angeles employees responsible for policymaking regarding and/or administrating the Senior Center and for trespassing senior citizens from the Senior Center.”
The city said in a statement that it does not comment on pending litigation.
“We have previously stated that we are open, and we continue to remain open, to engaging constructively with Ms. Ilon and her attorney to facilitate her return to the Senior Center,” the statement said.
Ilon said she doesn’t think she had much of a choice when she decided to file a lawsuit against the city.
“The only way to appeal a trespass to the city is to go to that administrative hearing, which of course is judged by somebody they’ve hired as a consultant, and he didn’t find in my favor,” Ilon said. “If this had been a DUI or something, I could have just gone in front of a judge and said this is what happened, but the administrative hearing cost me about $40,000, and I don’t think that was fair, so my choice was to either drop it or try to get a fairer hearing.”
The issue stems from an incident on May 7, 2024, when Ilon was trespassed from the Senior Center for three years. The lawsuit claims the trespass was a violation of Ilon’s federal civil rights under U.S. laws.
On that day, Ilon approached the front desk at the Senior Center attempting to renew membership for Gary Martin, a member who also was trespassed for three years, according to the lawsuit.
“While Ms. Ilon was speaking with Ms. Melissa Hsu, a volunteer at the front desk, Ms. Geyer approached,” the lawsuit states. “Ms. Geyer interjected herself into the conversation and directed Ms. Hsu not to renew Mr. Martin’s membership. And then, instead of just dealing with the question of whether Ms. Ilon could renew Mr. Martin’s membership, Ms. Geyer sought to aggravate Ms. Ilon stating, ‘She’s (Ms. Ilon) suing the city,’ which was denied by Ms. Ilon as being untrue at that time.”
Geyer then accused Ilon of saying she was going to get her fired, the lawsuit states. Ilon also denies that as being true.
“Neither accusation by Ms. Geyer has anything to do with Mr. Martin’s membership status and were simply verbal attacks initiated by Ms. Geyer seeking to engage Ms. Ilon in a confrontation,” the lawsuit continues. “Without further provocation, Ms. Geyer told Ms. Ilon, ‘You need to leave.’ Ms. Ilon complied and left the front desk and lobby area and went upstairs to retrieve her car keys and laptop, at which time she was confronted by the police who had been called by Ms. Geyer.”
Police escorted Ilon from the building “to her shame and embarrassment,” according to the lawsuit. They then gave Ilon a trespass notice signed by Geyer which prohibited Ilon from visiting the Senior Center for three years.
Ilon appealed the trespass order last fall, but the independent hearing examiner upheld the decision.
“The city met its initial burden of proving a factual basis for issuance of the notice of trespass,” the decision read. “The appellant has not met her burden of proving that the trespass notice was invalid, so the notice of trespass is affirmed, and the appeal is denied.”
The incident began in 2023 when a group of seniors began questioning and challenging a policy that banned outside food and drink from the center’s cafe and lounge. Martin, one of the more vocal members of the group, was issued a three-year trespass on Feb. 20, 2024, after multiple confrontations centered around the policy.
Ilon’s lawsuit states the city “has no written procedures or policies about when a citizen may be trespassed from the Senior Center, but instead it has a longstanding policy, custom and established practice of issuing trespass notices in violation of one’s civil rights, or ratifying such actions and in failing to supervise and train its Senior Center managers about when a trespass notice may be appropriately issued.”
Ilon claims her physical, intellectual, emotional and social well-being have been damaged “as a direct and proximate result of being wrongfully trespassed from the Senior Center in violation of her constitutional rights,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims the city violated Ilon’s procedural due process rights and substantive due process of law guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The trespass notice also is called unconstitutionally vague and in violation of the Fifth and 14th Amendments, according to the lawsuit.
Geyer and Delikat, according to the lawsuit, violated Ilon’s right to free speech, the lawsuit states.
Ilon is demanding a jury trial, according to the lawsuit.
In an attempt to address issues at the Senior Center, the city last spring hired Getta Rogers to perform a thorough review of the center’s programs, activities, policies, roles and responsibilities to help improve future outcomes, according to the city’s statement.
“(Rogers) has been meeting with users and members of the center over recent months to learn more about issues and areas for improvement,” the statement said. “As part of this contracted work for the city, Ms. Rogers has prioritized inclusivity and ensuring that any policy outcome is one that benefits all members and users of the Senior Center facility. Ms. Ilon was welcomed to and in fact did participate in some of these stakeholder input opportunities.”
Ilon said she didn’t think those meetings were relevant.
The city and its employees have 21 days to serve Ilon an answer to the compliant or a motion under rule 12 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, according to the lawsuit.
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Reporter Emily Hanson can be reached by email at emily.hanson@peninsuladailynews.com.
