Jan 15, 2008 4:48 pm US/Central
Garrison Keillor Sues Neighbor, St. Paul
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
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The lawsuit was filed Monday in Ramsey County District Court by Keillor, the host of "A Prairie Home Companion" and creator of Lake Wobegon, and his wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson. (File)
CBS
A judge has given humorist Garrison Keillor and his next-door neighbor until Jan. 23 to work with a mediator to resolve a dispute over a two-story garage and studio the neighbor is building as an addition behind her home.
Ramsey County District Judge Edward Cleary announced the mediation at a hearing Tuesday where Keillor, host of "A Prairie Home Companion," planned to seek a temporary restraining order barring Lori Anderson from building the addition.
St. Paul's Heritage Preservation Commission earlier approved the project. Both homes are in the Ramsey Hill historic district.
Keillor and his wife, Jenny Lind Nilsson, filed a lawsuit Monday to block the addition. On Tuesday, Keillor showed up in court with an attorney. Anderson and her fiance, Paul Olson, attended without a lawyer.
Keillor's attorney, Matthew Seltzer, met in chambers with the judge, assistant city attorney Peter Warner and Olson for about 30 minutes.
Olson said later the judge's proposal seemed a fair way to resolve the conflict.
Anderson said she feels bad that the situation resulted in a lawsuit. "We wanted to negotiate the whole time. He won't talk to us," she said.
Keillor didn't seem pleased with the judge's proposal.
"It's not the best route I could think of," Keillor said before his attorney advised him not to say more.
In their lawsuit, Keillor and Nilsson claim the addition would "obstruct the access of light and air to the Nilsson-Keillor property" and "impair or destroy protected historical resources."
The lawsuit also claims the addition would obstruct the couple's view "of open space and beyond" and possibly hurt property value. Property tax records show Keillor's home has an estimated market value of about $1.2 million, while Anderson's home was valued at about $600,000.
The city is also listed as a defendant. Keillor and his wife, in the court papers, say they were not notified of public hearings before a zoning variance was approved and the project was given a green light by the Heritage Preservation Commission.
City Attorney John Choi said Monday that the allegations by Keillor and Nilsson are without merit.
"It is our position that the city, Board of Zoning Appeals and the Heritage Preservation Commission acted in compliance with the law and within our legal discretion," Choi said.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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