After being picketed for a year by anti-fur activists, Gregg Schumacher of Schumacher Fur Company was served an official eviction notice on Wednesday, December 20—a decision that was later mysteriously overturned. The brouhaha started in November when Schumacher loudly announced his "decision" to move his fur shop out of downtown Portland, citing an unsafe business environment and an economic downturn downtown as his top reasons for packing up and leaving.

However, on Tuesday, December 26—the day Schumacher was supposed to be out of his store by 1 pm, according to the eviction notice from TMT Development—Schumacher told reporters he had just heard from TMT's attorney, Alan Laster, saying TMT had chosen not to proceed with a planned December 28 eviction hearing. That apparently leaves Schumacher free to wrap up his "evacuation sale," before vacating the premises sometime next spring.

Sources close to the situation told the Mercury on November 29—the same day Schumacher originally announced his shop's departure—that Schumacher had, in fact, been asked to leave quietly by his landlord after continuing to incite anti-fur protesters outside his shop. On Saturday, November 25, for example, Schumacher's wife Linda reportedly screamed obscenities at protesters while toting a counter-protest sign.

But Schumacher insists his departure was always voluntary.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he told the Mercury, insisting that last week's eviction notice—apparently caused by "signage issues" outside his shop—is the first time he had heard the word "eviction."

Representatives for TMT have yet to return calls regarding Schumacher Fur Company.