7/27/2007

Mr. Carter (not his real name) is a retired registered nurse and ordained minister who has performed nursing-related missionary work in Asia for the past decade. He has lived in the same apartment in Westwood for 34 years. He was never even a day late in paying the rent. While he was out of the country on a mission, his landlord claimed that Mr. Carter failed to pay his rent and filed suit to evict him. LAFLA placed the case with pro bono attorney Brenda Kleidosty of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.

Brenda, working with partner Joel A. Feuer and associates Jay Srinivasan and Dennis Daniels, found that the landlord had imposed an unlawful rent increase for five months one year prior to the attempted eviction. When the Housing Department ruled the increase illegal, the landlord returned all the excess rent paid by Mr. Carter.

Brenda argued that wrongfully holding the money of another is conversion, and that the landlord was required by statute to pay interest on the money, which the landlord had failed to do. She further contended that since the interest was required to be credited to Mr. Carter’s account, that the eviction notice and lawsuit overstated the amount of rent owed. Overstatement of the rent due is an absolute defense in residential leases. The judge ruled in Mr. Carter’s favor, dismissing the unlawful detainer.

Mr. Carter is thrilled to be able to stay in his home of 34 years, and extremely grateful to Brenda and the team at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.

LAFLA awarded Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP the 2006 Pro Bono Services Award for partnering with LAFLA to defend a significant number of eviction cases each year.