Judge dismisses eviction case against Telephone Hill residents

Published 10:00 am Friday, November 21, 2025

A District Court judge Friday morning dismissed the City and Borough of Juneau’s eviction case against three residents of Telephone Hill who have refused to vacate. The residents have filed their own case against the city in Superior Court, where the eviction will be decided instead.

CBJ owns the houses on Telephone Hill and plans to demolish them to build higher-density housing in response to Juneau’s housing shortage. The court decision comes amid months of public testimonies and protests against the Juneau Assembly’s plan.

The residents’ lawsuit seeks historic preservation status for the old buildings, an injunction to stop their demolition and a pause on the city’s evictions. Because that case is now pending in Superior Court, Judge Kirsten Swanson said, the District Court eviction case cannot proceed.

The Superior Court hearing date has not yet been scheduled.

On Tuesday night, residents’ attorney Fred Triem filed a motion asking the eviction decision be delayed until the Superior Court’s ruling, and on Wednesday Swanson postponed her decision by two days to review the filing.

Friday’s hearing was brief. Proceedings began promptly at 8:15 am and the judge had delivered the decision and closed the record by 8:17 am.

“I was still adjusting my tie when it was over,” Triem said.

Municipal attorney Emily Wright said the city disagrees with the judge’s decision, though understands the legal logic. She said what was unexpected was the judge closing the record without the opportunity for either attorney to speak.

Wright said the city will now focus on the Superior Court case and plans to file an expedited motion in hopes of keeping the Telephone Hill development project on track. An expedited motion could bring a hearing in about two weeks, though a final ruling could still take months.

The city first issued eviction notices last spring, directing residents to vacate all homes by Oct. 1. That deadline was postponed a month as officials said they had not properly notified all residents.

Wright said Friday’s ruling does not presently delay the city’s development timeline for Telephone Hill. CBJ’s engineering department has already begun hazardous-material testing on some of the vacant homes.

The eviction dismissal also prevents the city from taking retaliatory action against the tenants, including shutting off utilities.

Triem said that allowing residents to remain will help keep the houses in better condition by deterring rodents and vandalism, and by keeping water running through the pipes, while awaiting a decision on whether demolition will move forward.

Joe Karson, defendent in the eviction case, said that he is still actively staying in his Telephone Hill home, where most of his belongings have remained. Throughout these hearings, he has kept some items at a temporary place where he can move in a moment’s notice.

“This is what we wanted, to stay in our home, and for now it looks like that’s what we have,” Karson said. “Gonna make life a little bit easier for all of us.”