India, Oct. 24 -- Picture turning down $1 million while a shopping complex rises around your little house. That was everyday life for Edith Macefield in Seattle. A 2007CBS News profile described Macefield as frail but determined to remain in her home. Developers had reportedly offered her $750,000 initially, followed by a $1 million offer that included a comparable home elsewhere and lifetime home health care. She rejected both offers, and developers began building around her house.

The CBS News report noted that only two fence pickets separated her house from the project's west wall, while the north and east sides were even closer. Once construction ended, the home would be hemmed in on three sides by a five-story concrete structure. Ed...