Families Sue City Of Muskogee Over Land Seizures

Several families in Muskogee are fed up with a legal battle with the city that's gone on for years. They claim the city improperly seized land and destroyed buildings - but the city said it did nothing wrong.

The court process has been so drawn out in one case - that the original person who filed the suit died before seeing it to the end. The families are asking for millions of dollars from the city.

Cassandra Vaughn remembers the day her father was notified that property he owned had been condemned and demolished by the city of Muskogee.

"He was livid," she said.

Darwin England has a similar story. Property he owned was condemned and demolished.

The major sticking point in their cases is exactly how the property was condemned - and whether or not the city followed due process before demolition.

"You're denying me of my civil rights. You're not following due process. Your procedures are not followed in any way, you don't follow your own ordinance, you don't follow state law," England said of the city.

The City of Muskogee said it won't comment on pending litigation, but in a 2020 state supreme court appeal - the City said, "The Vaughns have not met their burden to prove that the process followed by the City did not meet constitutional due process."

The document adds, "There has never been any doubt about the basis upon which the City acted; the property was dilapidated..."

Their properties were condemned and demolished in 2005 - the lawsuits were filed in 2007.

After a back-and-forth judgements and appeals, to this day neither the city - nor Vaughn or England have answers.

"That's the bottom line - we are tired of playing tit for tat with the city," Vaughn said.

The families are waiting on a decision from an appeals court, which they think could happen any day.