California call for class action lawsuit on Eviction Moratorium

California call for class action lawsuit on Eviction Moratorium

Newport Coast, CA · Member since 2014 · 95 posts · 73 votes

So I owe two homes that I'm renting out, one tenant is paying just fine but the other tenant owes me two months of non-payment and are not paying since she's been unemployed. If she applies for unemployment, she'd be getting about $4,000 a month in California, which is more than enough for the rent payment. But she isn't cooperating and I believe is abusing the system.

I wonder, what is better to do? With California's judicial council law, you have to wait another 90 days after the governor lifts the eviction moratorium (that means July 28, 2020 plus 90 days afterwards so we are looking at October 28, 2020). That's a potential of 5 - 6 months where the tenant doesn't have to pay me a single dime and will be squatting in my house for free. Not to mention any damages to the property I will have to suffer as well. And it could get extended to 2021.

What's the chance of me getting the rent back-pay owned to me? The tenant can simply delay and move out or get evicted in November and it could end up in small claims court if I want to get any money back or a collection agency will have to go after the tenant (and the collection agency gets 40% of anything they can collect on). 

Should I gamble on this or look into how to file a class action lawsuit against the State of California and the Judicial Council?

Any other people in California having these issues and would like to get together to file a Class Action Lawsuit or offer suggestions on joining local Landlord associations who are already looking to do so? Strength in numbers is the way to do anything about this. 

Do other landlords have problem tenants that are not paying as well?

Let me know your thoughts.

15Reply
2,224 views

Most Popular Reply

Investor · wilmington, NC · Member since 2012 · 3 posts · 28 votes
6y

Absolutely you need to sue them. I own several hundred rental units in other states, otherwise I'd join you in helping cover the costs. California needs businesses to start putting a lot of pressure on it. The good news is that most of the businesses are moving to Texas which is the biggest hurt that they can put on the state. Without businesses it loses its revenue and becomes a trash heap. Sue them. They are violating your constitutional rights and probably violating the takings clause. They are usurping your property for the benefit of the public. They must reimburse you for taking your private property and using it. Start reaching out to landlords, you can get all their contact info using reonomy which only cost about $100 per month to get direct owner contact points. Get a handful together to start, so you have some cash to initiate the class action. If we can get more landlords across the country to take action we have the possibility of 30 million housing units suing the federal and state governments! Federal Cares act alone is causing over 5 billion in damages for it's moratoriums imposed on landlords.

See this reply in the discussion

329 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    @Wesley W. but what seems to amaze me (if I’m not mistaken) NY is able to evict and here in California we can’t.... I honestly thought to myself that both NY and Cali were very tenant friendly... I guess Cali takes the Trophy on this one

  • Developer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 36 posts · 20 votes
    6y

    Good luck with the lawsuit - figure out a way to easily get the greater real estate development community involved since it affects everyone. 


    Unfortunately right now Class A properties are doing well. It's Class C and D properties that are struggling. Most of them are owned by mom and pop landlords and both parties have no problem screwing the middle class.

  • Rental Property Investor · The Vampire State · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Ricardo P.:

    @Wesley W. but what seems to amaze me (if I’m not mistaken) NY is able to evict and here in California we can’t.... I honestly thought to myself that both NY and Cali were very tenant friendly... I guess Cali takes the Trophy on this one

    Not really.  We cannot even file for eviction until at least August 20th, and with the inevitable backlog of cases, we're looking deep into the fall to have the cases heard, much less the time to get the warrant and actually schedule the set out.  Best estimate is bad tenants are out near year's end.

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    @Salman V. if I’m not mistaken I believe there’s like 3-4 lawsuits as of now towards the City,County, Judicial Council and the State. I wonder if that’s enough to get someone moving??


    @Wesley W. Well that’s a start. Here in Cali we don’t even have a date on when we can hope to start an eviction process. I wouldn’t be surprised if they prolong this a whole year...

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    What 3 to 4 class action lawsuits in Ca? I know of the 2 that have already been filed: CAA vs. state of Ca. And 2 retirees vs. Antioch Ca? Thanks 

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    1. AGGLA sues Los Angeles County in Federal Court. 
    2. Pacific Legal Foundation sued the Judicial Council of California. 
    3. Dough Michie also is suing the Governor of California for the eviction Moratorium 

    And I’m not sure if the ones you mention are the ones I mentioned too. But if not I guess there’s more than these 3 I know about. 

    I have a feeling in the next couple of weeks we will get more. This will last until mid next year min you’ll see. Virus cases are already getting worse in California. Imperial County is on its way to closing soon. 

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @Richardo P. Yes, yes those are the ones I know. Been communicating with Doug Michie. He’s has until July 3 I believe to file. Could we talk outside of this group, please?  

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    I just sent you over a message. Check your inbox👍🏽

  • Newport Coast, CA · Member since 2014 · 95 posts · 73 votes
    6y

    Damn, this is very terrible. I received this in my email inbox today.

    Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, June 30, the San Diego City Council will be discussing another extension of the city's eviction moratorium...this time through September 30. With limitations on court operations, no evictions related to non-payment (COVID-related or not) can be pursued right now, and likely for several months. Property owners' and managers' sole recourse for encouraging residents to pay is unavailable. The unfortunate side effect of moratoriums like this and the court rules, is that many residents think they do not have to pay rent and are choosing not to whether experiencing a COVID hardship or not. At the same time, little to no relief exists for rental owners.

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    David, this moratorium isn't going to end this year. Coming September they will be extending it even longer. This is a never ending game. I’m 99% sure California’s eviction Moratorium will also be extended due to rising covid 19 cases. I think for a lot of investors real estate is ruined. Atleast for 2020-2021

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    I have a bad situation where the tenant has refused to pay anything for three months (going on 4) and would not move even with the promise of rent forgiveness.  I'm interested in joing a class action!

  • Developer · Chicago, IL · Member since 2015 · 36 posts · 20 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Ricardo P.:

    @Salman V. if I’m not mistaken I believe there’s like 3-4 lawsuits as of now towards the City,County, Judicial Council and the State. I wonder if that’s enough to get someone moving??


    @Wesley W. Well that’s a start. Here in Cali we don’t even have a date on when we can hope to start an eviction process. I wouldn’t be surprised if they prolong this a whole year...

    <3

    Illinois has finally gotten the lawsuits going too. 

    https://news.wttw.com/2020/06/25/landlords-sue-pritzker-over-illinois-ban-evictions

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    Hi everyone.  File a claim against the judicial council without a lawyer.  Contact me and ask me how.  

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    @Sandra Slivka I’m sorry your in this situation aswell. From my understanding if I’m not mistaken @David To is going to start a lawsuit at the end of July and might be looking for people to join the lawsuit out of California. @Noel Wilson Sandra is another person you might want to reach out too. She is also a victim of this horrible situation the government officials are putting us through. 

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    I hate to be the person whom delivers bad news, But out in New York a landlords lawsuit got dismissed/struck down by a New York Judge stating the Eviction  moratorium is legal. Government officials aren’t waving rents. Tenants are just accumulating rent debt. I wouldn’t be surprised if California Judges agree with that too if so we are screwed.

  • San Diego, CA · Member since 2013 · 4 posts · 21 votes
    6y

    I would be interested in filling a lawsuit. I feel I have one of the better cases because I already have a judgment in hand from February. I just can't evict, only a Sheriff can physically evict. I was 2 days away from that happening when the stay at home orders came down. The last time this Tenant paid was November 2019, so I'm at month 8 of my property being held hostage. If anyone has a lawyer in San Diego that would be a good for fit this (I believe this would be an eminent domain case), please let me know. I already contacted the organisations that pursue this stuff, none have bothered with me.

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    Royce contact Philip at Arete Law firm in San Diego.  I have spoken with him a couple of times.  He is interested in constitutional rights.  As of yesterday, we decided to 'keep in touch'.  He has offered to make a lot of noise on behalf of landlords but I am not sure how to proceed so even with 8 months in arrears there is a cost benefit analysis that doesn't work.  But if there are enough of us it might.  One lawyer told me we need to sue through the feds for constitutional rights because the state courts will back the state!

  • Newport Coast, CA · Member since 2014 · 95 posts · 73 votes
    6y

    I opened up a case with Pacific Legal through their website but they haven't got back with me yet. But on their website, there's people who already filed open lawsuits if you review their Cases page. But I'm not going to do anything until August. I'm just trying to ascertain information at the moment. And not sure if suing the state of CA is a good option since it may fail miserably.

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    I think that filing a case against the state will fail.  That's what Pacific Legal Fund did.  They told me they couldn't take up my case because they already filed one.  I think that the best legal course of action is through Federal courts.  I am not sure if the PLF sued in state first because you have to do that before you sue in Federal court.  

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    I hate to admit it. But I think there’s NOTHING we can do about this moratorium. I guess I’m that dude who’s going to admit it. I’m giving this until January before I start letting go of my lower income rentals. I’m sure those will get hit the worst. Tenants are paying but the question is until when? The Unemployment bonus runs out at the end of July. The news media is basically telling tenants NOT to pay rent since evictions can’t be processed. And to top it off I think California will close up again in the upcoming weeks due to infection Spikes. I doubt this is going to be resolved this year alone. I can’t see this getting better until maybe the end of 2021.  

  • Joe SplitrockPro Member
    Moderator
    Rental Property Investor · Sioux Falls, SD · Member since 2015 · 9k+ posts · 18k+ votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Royce Kemp:

    I would be interested in filling a lawsuit. I feel I have one of the better cases because I already have a judgment in hand from February. I just can't evict, only a Sheriff can physically evict. I was 2 days away from that happening when the stay at home orders came down. The last time this Tenant paid was November 2019, so I'm at month 8 of my property being held hostage. If anyone has a lawyer in San Diego that would be a good for fit this (I believe this would be an eminent domain case), please let me know. I already contacted the organisations that pursue this stuff, none have bothered with me.

     This is ridiculous. It is possible you may not even be able to get them out until after November, which would be a full year. I would be curious if you e-mailed your city, county and state officials with your story how they justify you having to pay property taxes. Maybe if they start hearing more real stories like this, they will shift their stance. Another option is go to the news media. It can generate sympathy for landlords and may even shame the tenant into leaving. The news media would likely share the responses you got from politicians. 

    We had a case in my state where a murder happened at a rental property. The county kept the crime scene for over a year and the landlord didn't have access to their property. They tried suing and it was a slow process. They went to the news media and within a week the property was turned back over. The court of public opinion can be much more effective.

    Good luck.

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    @Sandra Slivka your right suing the state will get no where. State Judges are obviously going to side with the state meaning your case is basically over before it started. There’s an article about New York landlords suing the Governor which was dropped through a state judge stating the moratorium is legal since they aren’t waving rents. Rents are just being postponed to a later due date. And tenants are building their debt. 

  • Member since 2020 · 10 posts · 13 votes
    6y

    There is a law SB 1410 working through the CA state legislature.  You can google and follow it's action. It's passed the state senate and is now with the assembly.  They need to work together to edit it.  Once it is passed, I predict evictions will resume. It will be Fall at best.  I'm following it closely.  You can read about it here:  

    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB1410

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y

    @Joe Splitrock that isn’t a bad idea at all. But then again the media is very good at making us landlords look like monsters. They’ll be the first who twist the moral of the story to “LANDLORD WANTS TO EVICT TENANT DURING PANDEMIC” Or “PROFIT OVER HUMAN LIFE” 

  • LakeWood , CA · Member since 2018 · 268 posts · 331 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Sandra Slivka:

    There is a law SB 1410 working through the CA state legislature.  You can google and follow it's action. It's passed the state senate and is now with the assembly.  They need to work together to edit it.  Once it is passed, I predict evictions will resume. It will be Fall at best.  I'm following it closely.  You can read about it here:  

    https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB1410

     That’s pretty sweet! I was unaware of that!! Thank you!! 

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.