Michigan Couple Is Fighting A Foreclosure and $3,000+ FOIA Bill Over Disputed Sewer Charges Because Of An Inept & Corrupt Local Government
A Michigan couple is fighting to save their property after years of billing errors from their dysfunctional and ineptly run township and county. In addition, the county wants to foreclose over a $3,023 invoice for a FOIA request. The homeowners say could prove they were improperly charged for both the sewer charges and the public records.
How The Foreclosure Nightmare Began
Jobeth Carlton and Joseph Super moved to Rives Township, Michigan in 2019. They saw the small community of about 4,700 residents near Jackson as a quiet place to raise their three young children.
Then in July 2020, they purchased two adjacent vacant lots for $2,000 from an out-of-state owner. The ownerwho lived Idaho had never seen the properties. Both lots were empty — no structures, no functioning plumbing, no utilities.
Michigan Couple is Fighting A Foreclosure Over Sewer Bills For A Sewer That Doesn’t Exist
Shortly after buying the lots, Carlton and Super began receiving sewer bills for the empty properties. The couple repeatedly asked township officials for an explanation. There was nothing on the lots to create sewage.
Officials couldn’t explain the charges. They gave a plethora of dubious excuses like “The records were lost records from a flood” or “We don’t know where those things are”
The couple paid for a time and then stopped. They refused to pay for a service they say was never provided. Those unpaid bills were eventually reclassified as delinquent taxes. In October 2024, the Jackson County Treasurer’s Office initiated foreclosure proceedings over the unpaid $2,398.39 in back taxes and fees.
Evidence The Billing Was Wrong
The people of Rives Township elected Super Township Clerk in Novovember of 2024. He soon resigned to the township being a hostile work environment. However, while serving as township clerk, Super discovered 2007 meeting minutes showing one of the vacant lots had been officially removed from the sewer special assessment. This meant the lots should never have been billed at all. This is the key document the couple has been trying to obtain through FOIA.
Michigan Couple is Fighting A Foreclosure Caused By Nepotism, Political Ineptitude And Possible Public Corruption
Rives Township has experienced significant and very cartoonish political ineptitude in recent years:
- Two township clerks, Judith McCord and Vercilla Hart both resigned.
- Two township treasurers resigned. Janina Teske (amid a pay scandal) and Joseph Yang (citing a hostile work environment) both resigned.
- Carlton herself resigned as the township’s FOIA coordinator. She cited poor record-keeping and interference with her duties.
- Super was elected township clerk in November 2024, but resigned in May 2025 citing hostility in the office.
The current clerk, Kendra Adams, was appointed May 29, 2025. She is married to Township Trustee Brandon Adams. Brandon Adams is the son of Township Supervisor Jerry Adams.
Michigan Couple Is Fighting A $3,023 FOIA Bill
After Super’s resignation, Carlton filed a FOIA request seeking records she believes will prove the billing was incorrect. The township’s response? A $3,023.50 invoice for the documents. The invoice itemized out 85+ hours of labor across multiple staff members and copying fees.
To make matters worse, Brandon Adams personally delivered the invoice to the couple’s home. Super and Carlton told him to leave and have since filed a restaining order through the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Adams denied wrongdoing on Facebook. He claims he was simply delivering an invoice. Kendra Adams defended the cost. She noted the records spanned 20+ years and required significant labor to digitize.
Where the Case Stands
Court records show Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain heard the foreclosure case on Feb. 17, 2026.
Six days later, McBain ordered the township to provide the couple with the requested documents without charge by March 30th.
On March 12th, the township posted an announcement on its website and Facebook page stating the township office would be closed until further notice to fulfill a FOIA request.
Super walked by the township office a few days later and saw a pink sheet of paper directing visitors to a copy of McBain’s order posted on the door with Super and Carlton’s names and address highlighted.
On March 27th, Rives Township attorney Fred Lucas appeared before the judge for an evidentiary hearing to explain the documents were part of a FOIA submitted by Carlton and were not part of the foreclosure case.
Her told the court:
Carlton and Super were unaware of the hearing and were not present. There are also no court records showing the couple received a notice to appear.
McBain said he was not in a position to order the township to waive the expense. He stated it would be up to Carlton and Super to request a hearing for it. However, he did not specifically dismiss his original order for the township to produce documents.
The March 30 deadline passed, which prompted a show cause hearing before McBain to explain the failure to provide the documents on time, court records show.
Through a handoff between attorney Eric White, representing the County Treasurer’s Office, and Lucas, the couple received an envelope with a flash drive prior to the court hearing containing a large volume of documents Carlton requested.
Michigan Couple is Fighting The Politics Of A New Judge
Prior to the show cause hearing, the case was reassigned from McBain to Judge Richard LaFlamme.
At the May 21 show cause hearing, LaFlamme ruled McBain had no authority to compel the township to honor Carlton’s FOIA without cost and set aside the claim.
LaFlamme claimed that if a property has been improperly assessed, there is a very specific procedure for challenging that assessment that must be followed
“The court doesn’t have authority to delve into ‘well was this property taxed correctly in the first place?’ There is a procedure for doing that, but this isn’t it,” LaFlamme said.
Why The Story Of Why The Michigan Couple Is Fighting Their Foreclosure Matters
This case highlights how nepotism in small-town governments leads to new levels of ineptitude. That ineptitude can push ordinary homeowners to the brink of losing their property.
