"Jordana Ackerman filed the complaint on Feb. 2 in Alameda County Superior Court against the the city of Piedmont, according to Ackerman's attorney. The suit accuses Piedmont of fraudulently condemning her great-grandfather Sidney Dearing's home under the pretense of building a public road that was never constructed. The lawsuit alleges violations of the California Constitution's equal protection clause, arguing that the city forced Dearing to give up his home "solely for the reason" that he and his family were Black."
"Ackerman is seeking compensation that "at minimum" reflects the value of the home today, currently estimated to be over $2 million, according to the complaint. Her attorney Leah Aden, a senior attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, told SFGATE that one reason the suit was filed this year is that key documentation surrounding the city's eminent domain action was not uncovered by Ackerman until 2025."
Jordana Ackerman filed a complaint Feb. 2 in Alameda County Superior Court against the city of Piedmont alleging the city fraudulently condemned her great-grandfather Sidney Dearing’s home under the false pretense of building a public road that was never constructed. The complaint argues the city violated the California Constitution’s equal protection clause by forcing the family out solely because they were Black and seeks compensation at least equal to the property’s current estimated value of over $2 million. The complaint references a 1924 mob, threats of lynching, Dearing’s ownership of a jazz club, and discovery of key eminent-domain documents only in 2025.
Read at SFGATE
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]