Weeks after an ex-husband filed to evict her from a notorious Butler Lane home, Catherine Palmer this month took steps to evict yet another tenant from the dwelling.
Catherine Palmer at the time of her arrest for Cruelty to Animals. Mugshot courtesy of the New Canaan Police Department
According to a complaint filed Sept. 8 in state Superior Court, Palmer “has terminated the defendants’ right or privilege to occupy” a second-floor bedroom at 151 Butler Lane.
In an answer filed Sept. 13, the tenant said, “Catherine Palmer is not the legal landlord/owner” of the house “where necessary repairs need to be made and have not. She is facing eviction … I would be happy to pay rent to” the legal owner.
The tenant referred to Palmer’s ex-husband, who had filed papers in August to evict her, citing a divorce agreement. (Palmer also had filed in April to evict two tenants from the residence.)
Before (top) and (after) of a puppy rescued in an animal cruelty case, from the day of the seizure on Nov. 17, 2020, to November 2021. Photo courtesy of New Canaan Animal Control
Palmer became widely known to New Canaanites following her arrest and conviction on three counts of animal cruelty after three puppies died at 151 Butler Lane two years ago. Amid the animal cruelty case, 12 dogs were seized from the house and eventually the town itself was granted custody. The surviving animals have been adopted out and are thriving in new homes.
Palmer’s lawyer in the housing matter, Norwalk-based Abram Heisler, said in a Sept. 20 response to the tenant’s answer, “The plaintiff denies each and every one of the defendant’s special defenses.”
Police were called to the house multiple times this summer regarding disputes between a landlord and tenant there.
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