HORRENDOUS HORROR STORIES
All of these cases could have been won or settled successfully. The earlier you hire an attorney, the better your chance of success.
An attorney will send your landlord “discovery” and do an investigation. An attorney can request a
jury trial, particularly if your case is in a court where tenants don’t tend to do well or if the case rests on the credibility of the various witnesses. An attorney can tell you that you have a dead bang
loosing case and try to get you a settlement that puts you in a better position than loosing at trial.
“It was to hard to get though to the free agencies
and I could not afford to pay a lawyer”
January 2007: Single mother of 2 who was recently widowed had a hard time making ends meet
and represented herself at her eviction trial for nonpayment of rent. She prepared her own answer because she “got the run around” when she called all the numbers of the various referral sheets. It seemed too hard to get help. She is still looking for a place to live and, since she did not raise any defenses in her answer, there is nothing that can be done to help. The judge that decided her case has never granted a Motion for Relief from Forfeiture (a forgiveness motion in cases of where the eviction presents a hardship).
“They told me I had an easy case and now I have no place to go.”
January 2007: Disabled man was assisted in the preparation of an answer by a local nonprofit but was not provided representation. He withheld rent due to bad conditions and had a health
department report and pictures to substantiate his claims. The report was dated after the eviction action was filed. He represented himself and lost. The judge found that the conditions were not serious enough. Had he had an experienced attorney he would have known that the judge that was assigned his case does not rule in favor of tenants very often and he would have requested another judge. I explained that the likelihood of overturning the judge’s decision is extremely small and although there are motions and appeals that can be filed, they very rarely succeed. I suggested
that it was best if he used his limited resources to find another place to live before his eviction becomes public (60 days after it is filed).
“I have been living in one shelter after another for months.
I can’t believe this is happening to me.”
January 2007: At the Coalition for Economic Survival clinic I interviewed a woman in her 50’s who
is currently living in a shelter. She has been in a shelter for approximately 6 months …. Since she
lost her eviction trial in the West Los Angeles Court. Her answer was done by a local agency. She was told she had an easy case and could represent herself. She did … and lost. She filed her own appeal and also lost. There was nothing I could do for her at this late stage.
“The manager told us we didn’t have to do anything.
How can we be locked out? Where will we go?”
December 2006: An 88 year old man and his 79 year old roommate came into the Coalition for Economic Survival clinic the night before the Sheriff was scheduled to lock them out of their rent controlled apartment. They received the Summons and Complaint for eviction but did not know what
to do so they did nothing. Other than connecting them with adult protective services, there was nothing that could be done.
“This isn’t fair. The judge wouldn’t even let me talk”
November 2006: A single mother of three withheld her rent payments because of very bad
conditions. She had called local code enforcement and had both pictures and reports. The answer
to her first eviction was done by a local nonprofit agency. They were not able to represent her. She won the first case. The landlord made some repairs and served her a new 3-day notice to pay
rent or quit. Feeling confident that she did not need to pay the rent, because all the repairs had not been done, she continued to withhold her payments and found her self in eviction proceedings again. The second case was heard by a judge that is not tenant friendly. The landlord argued that he had made some repairs and that she had refused him access to make the rest of the repairs. She lost at trial and then sought legal assistance. Today she and her children are living from friend to friend.
They have been unable to find a place to live because of the eviction on her record.
He stared at me in disbelief when I told him nothing could be done.
November 2005: An elderly disabled man was evicted from subsidized housing for allegedly being abusive to the resident manager. His neighbors were willing to testify that the resident manager had been abuse to him and he had only responded. Unfortunately, although his answer was done by a local nonprofit, he was not represented and lost at trial. In spite of his advanced age and infirmity,
the judge would not allow him to remain as a tenant. Our Motion for Relief from Forfeiture was
denied. He found himself living in a Board and Care facility after his eviction. I recently called the facility to find out how he was doing. He died within 6 months of moving in.
“I got nervous and didn’t know what to say.”
May 2005: Family of 6 was evicted for allegedly not paying the rent. They had proof of every single payment but got nervous and did not present the evidence to the judge. They also felt that the court appointed translator had interfered with their ability to present their evidence and had not translated correctly. I made a motion for a new trial based on the allegation that the translator had hindered
their presentation. The judge denied the motion in spite of the fact that the tenants had every
single receipt with them at their trial. It is rare for a judge to grant a second bite at the apple.
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