Household Sues Metropolis Over Ancestral House Stolen By Eminent Area

[ad_1] by Kandiss Edwards February 5, 2026

Each the lawsuit and the Piedmont Historic Society completely element the prolonged marketing campaign in opposition to the Dearings.

Descendants of the primary Black household to personal property in Piedmont, California, have filed a lawsuit in opposition to the town over the 1924 seizure of their ancestors’ residence.

The grievance, filed in Alameda County Superior Courtroom on behalf of the heirs of Sidney and Irene Dearing, challenges a longstanding condemnation assertion as the explanation for the sale.

Condemnation, extra generally often called eminent area, was evoked to take the property unfairly over a century in the past, based on Piedmont Historic Society.

The lawsuit alleges that the town ultimately used eminent area to sentence the property for a public function after which offered the land to a special purchaser a couple of months later. The grievance alleges the condemnation and subsequent sale had been racially motivated and harmed the household’s skill to build up generational wealth by way of homeownership.

“Town by no means meant to construct the highway,” mentioned Leah Aden, senior counsel on the Authorized Protection Fund, informed SFGate. “We all know based mostly upon the factual report that they put the house up on the market and offered it to a white individual a mere few months after the condemnation motion was settled, which to us is indication that they weren't intending to construct or full a highway to the house, however that the town lied to the Dearings as a result of they didn't need a Black household to stay within the metropolis of Piedmont.”

Although the declare made by the household comes after the expiration of the statute of limitations, the lawsuit argues that resulting from excessive circumstances the case must be heard.

In 1924, a racist mob and bombing makes an attempt pressured Sidney and Iréne Dearing’s household to flee their residence in Piedmont, CA.

A brand new lawsuit by their descendants alleges metropolis officers performed a task in fraudulently inducing them to go away. pic.twitter.com/o68SaFxa6A

— Darwin BondGraham (@DarwinBondGraha) February 4, 2026

The Dearings bought the house on 67 Wildwood Avenue in 1924 in a neighborhood that barred Black People from possession, however Irene Dearing satisfied sellers she was French-Canadian. Shortly after they moved in, the household’s Black ancestry was found, which led to harassment and intimidation.

The grievance alleges that the Dearings skilled threats and intimidation linked to their possession. The Piedmont Historic Society particulars the a number of makes an attempt to take away the Dearings from their residence, together with a mob of 500 “protestors” backed by Piedmont Police Chief Burton Becker, a Klu Klux Klan member.