Homeless shelter dispute in court

Friday, Oct. 9, 2009

Rev. Marguerite Morris, founder of Leah's House, named Executive Director Dennis Nicholson and the entire board of the housing authority in a suit filed in St. Mary's Circuit Court last month, accusing them of printing false accusations about her and her operation.

The suit claims that on July 1, Nicholson sent a letter to Leah's House that implied that Morris had been dishonest in her collection of government funding. The letter, included in the suit, alleges that Morris misrepresented the amount of rent she pays for the Callaway shelter, collecting $5,870 in April from the housing authority and social services department, rather than the $3,000 she was supposed to receive.

Morris' suit claims that the housing authority made no attempt to contact her and verify this assertion and forged a document to prove it. She asserts the authority was motivated to do so in order to create an excuse to divert her funding to the Three Oaks Center in Lexington Park.

The county commissioners declined to allocate funds to Leah's House during their fiscal year 2009 deliberations. The county encouraged Morris to work in partnership with Three Oaks, but the two directors have not meshed.

The suit includes a four-page letter, written March 2, in which Morris complains about the behavior of Three Oaks Director Lanny Lancaster and calling for his resignation. The letter also swings at Nicholson, who Morris claims defended Lancaster's appointment to the executive committee of the Human Resources Council over her objections.

I felt as if [Lancaster] was arrogantly discarding my remarks as being trivial," the letter reads. "At this point, my hand began to shake and I experienced marked feelings of stress-related helplessness. This was further exasperated by [Nicholson], who spoke in his defense."

Morris' suit also recounts a clash she alleges she had with Nicholson after requesting a letter of support from the Human Resources Council and accuses Three Oaks Board members of conflicts of interest. "In the state and federal grant arena, having key players like the director of the housing authority and the county sheriff on the Three Oaks Board gives the organization an unfair advantage," Morris wrote. "This puts the Leah's House organization at a disproportionate and unfair disadvantage for funding and deters equal access."

The housing authority did not return calls seeking comment. Trial date is not yet set.

jfriess@somdnews.com