Imprisoned owner loses bid to block sale of restaurant

Eva Christian, the former owner of Boulevard Haus in Dayton’s Oregon District, has lost her bid to block the foreclosure sale of her restaurant.

Christian — who is serving a nine-year prison sentence after her May 22 conviction on five felony counts related to insurance fraud — filed a six-page, handwritten motion that pleaded with Montgomery County Common Pleas Judge Dennis J. Adkins to appoint an attorney to represent her in the civil case. Court-appointed attorneys are assigned only for criminal cases, not for civil cases such as the mortgage foreclosure action.

Adkins overruled Christian’s request, noting that Christian claimed in her filing that she did not receive a copy of the lawsuit, but court records show that she was properly served on July 9, four days after the mortgage foreclosure action was filed.

“Since I am currently incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, I have been trying to manage as best as possible,” Christian wrote in her request. “I did not prepare, and am still in shock how my life has turned in such a tragic way after owning businesses for 15 years in the community.”

Christian’s Oregon District restaurant operated for 15 years at 329 E. Fifth St. as Cafe Boulevard and Boulevard Haus before closing shortly after her conviction.

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