EBR councilman ordered to pay $57,000 in damages after losing lawsuit to his neighbor

East Baton Rouge Councilman Cleve Dunn Jr. was ordered to pay his neighbor over $57,000 in damages after losing a property dispute in court.

District Judge Beau Higginbotham on Thursday ordered Dunn to tear down an outdoor pool kitchen in the backyard of his Baton Rouge home, ruling that it violates parish building codes.

Sherwood Manor homeowners Donna and Eugene Joseph Michelli, who live next door to the council member, have clashed with him over the home improvements since October 2020. That’s when Dunn had the pool kitchen built and widened the concrete driveway on his property. One year later, he added a fence behind his house that butts up to the side of the Michelli residence.

In a December 2021 lawsuit filed against Dunn and his wife, the plaintiffs alleged the outdoor kitchen and driveway were built within inches of their property. They also said the fence was on their side of the property line. All of the improvements were a breach of building restrictions, the plaintiffs successfully argued.

“It’s been a very long and hard road that he has made us endure,” Eugene Michelli said Friday. “We have fought this for almost two years. He has used his political power to stop us at every turn.”

The Michelli’s live in a house in the 13900 block of King Carey Avenue, and the Dunns live just around the bend on the adjoining corner lot along Jane Seymour Drive, according to the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs said runoff from Dunn’s pool house spilled onto their property during rainstorms and caused flooding in their house on multiple occasions, resulting in substantial damage to their walls and floors.

The Michelli’s asked Dunn to remove the fence and pool house, but he refused, according to their suit. He would not budge even after city-parish officials issued him written notices notifying him the renovations he made were against code and caused a safety risk to his neighbors, the plaintiffs said.

The Michelli case passed through two judges who recused themselves, citing personal relationships with the councilman. Longtime judge Tim Kelley inherited the case, but retired in January. That’s when Higginbotham began presiding.