The Minneapolis man who has become the center of a controversy after opening up his property to the city’s unhoused filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against him on Friday.
When Hamoudi Sabri allowed unhoused people to live on a commercial parking lot he owns off of East Lake Street he sparked a battle with city authorities.
Late last month, a judge granted the city a temporary restraining order against Sabri, barring him from allowing homeless encampments on the lot and other properties in Minneapolis until further order from the court.
At the time of the ruling, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the ruling was “the right call.” But Sabri said the city was not operating in good faith and the motion he filed Friday argues that its restraining order critically impacts the rights of the unhoused.
Sabri’s motion says that “under Mayor Jacob Frey’s administration, the City of Minneapolis has effectively banished unhoused people from public spaces through aggressive policing and encampment evictions, chasing them from place to place and disrupting their ability to obtain housing in the process. The right to simply exist in this City as an unhoused person is at stake.”
The motion also said the city’s complaint alleges a public nuisance in violation of two different state laws but fails to specify which part of those laws are being broken.
The city sent Sabri a public health nuisance letter in mid-July, which lists six violations:
- Presence of drug paraphernalia and hazardous sharps
- Improperly stored or accumulated solid waste and refuse
- Lack of water access or adequate sanitation facilities (sewage disposal)
- Unstable and unsafe structures (e.g., tents, makeshift shelters)
- Presence of junk and debris hazardous to health and safety
- Evidence of open fires and uncontrolled combustibles
The city of Minneapolis, in a statement to WCCO on Saturday, said it’s not able to comment on pending litigation.
In mid-September, seven people were shot at the encampment on Sabri’s lot. One of them later died days later from her injuries.
The case is expected to go before a judge on Nov. 13.
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