Camden New Journal - News: Man sues council for his antiques

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Camden New Journal - PAUL KEILTHY
Published: 8 November 2007

Man sues council for his antiques

THE neighbour of a 92-year-old woman whose flat was cleared by council workers while she was in a nursing home is fighting the council for compensation over antiques he claims were thrown out alongside hers.
Parliament Hill resident Hillary Katz has taken the council to court in a bid to recover £3,000, which he says he is owed for the furniture cleared by housing office workers from the Lissenden Gardens flat of Dorothy Robinson in January this year.
A New Journal investigation into the clearance of Mrs Robinson’s flat while she lay dying in a Cricklewood nursing home prompted a review of the council’s procedures for dealing with the possessions of the elderly and vulnerable. Two members of council staff currently face charges of misconduct.
At the Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court on Thursday, Mr Katz said that, as a trusted neighbour with a key, he had stored furniture in Mrs Robinson’s flat while she was away, but it had been cleared alongside hers by council workers despite his protests to Kentish Town district housing office.
But the council’s lawyers argued that, since the council had won power over Mrs Robinson’s affairs and surrendered her tenancy of 33 years on her behalf, everything in her flat was theirs to dispose of.
They deny Mr Katz’s claim to any compensation.
The hearing continues.

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