3 minute read
Securing Housing Stability
Bryan Morben
Bryan Morben assisted a client who had been living in an apartment for approximately three years when he suddenly became severely ill and was hospitalized. Prior to his illness, the client had parked his car in the apartment’s parking lot without incident and without the need for a parking permit. The car was always in working order, the property’s management knew the car belonged to the client and the client had moved the car whenever asked. After being released from the hospital, the client’s care team told him it was not safe for him to live alone and provided him with a letter to present to his landlord about terminating his lease early.
In mid-September 2017, the client spoke to the building manager and explained that because of his illness and disability, he could no longer live alone and needed to move out prior to the end of his lease. The client said that he could be moved out by the end of October, and the manager approved the request to terminate the lease early. During this time, the client frequently attended medical appointments and lived with a friend at another location because it was unsafe for him to live alone. His vehicle remained parked in the apartment’s parking lot as usual.
At the end of September—just two weeks after requesting the accommodation to terminate his lease early—the client received a letter from a towing company that they were in possession of his car and he would have to pay nearly $200 to get it out. When he asked the towing company why his car had been towed, they replied that the apartment management had it towed. The excuses from management were many; it was “a mistake,” but the management would pay for it to be returned (they did not and the storage charges continued to accrue); it had been “abandoned” or was “inoperable” (it was not); and finally, it was towed because he did not have a permit to park (it was not needed, had not been needed and was not written in the lease agreement). Eventually, the storage costs exceeded the value of the car, the client could not pay to have it released and it was scrapped.
The client moved out of the apartment at the end of October as promised, and the apartment was inspected shortly thereafter. The inspector found and commented on the apartment’s cleanliness. Accordingly, the client expected the $500 security deposit to be returned within the 21 days as required by the Minnesota law. However, when the client did not receive his deposit or any other written notice, and after waiting several months, he requested assistance from Volunteer Lawyers Network. VLN staff lawyers contacted the property management company and demanded the return of the security deposit, at which point the property management company stated that the deposit had been withheld because the client failed to pay rent for October and November 2017. Bryan agreed to assist and started on a journey that lasted more than two years and caused considerable emotional stress for his client.
Bryan first advised the towing company that they had not followed state laws relating to notice that would have allowed the client to recover his vehicle and his possessions in it. The tow company quickly settled in favor of the client for the approximate value of the vehicle. After initiating a lawsuit against the property management company, the management company returned the security deposit in order to avoid punitive damages, but it refused to admit any other wrongdoing or pay the client for the other damages sustained as a result of their discriminatory conduct. After over two years of litigation, including multiple unsuccessful attempts by the property management company to dismiss the case, it settled for a significant payment to the client to compensate him for the discrimination and emotional distress that he had suffered. Erin Edgerton Hall provided substantial assistance throughout the case.
