Lawsuit Challenges Department of Education’s Presumptive Denial of Debt Relief to Vulnerable Student Loan Borrowers Harmed by For-Profit School Fraud
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles (LAFLA) has filed a lawsuit in federal court against Miguel Cardona, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. The complaint alleges that the Department presumptively denies loan cancellations to vulnerable low-income borrowers who have not earned high school diplomas, even when they provide sufficient evidence to show that their schools falsely certified their eligibility for financial aid.
Update on Encampment Sweeps Litigation
A federal judge has found that the City of Los Angeles altered, created, and failed to produce key evidence about encampment sweeps.
Tenants Win Big in Court Decision Upholding New LA Renter Protections
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has upheld two innovative tenant protection ordinances passed by the Los Angeles City Council against a legal challenge by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles (AAGLA). One ordinance prohibits evictions based on nonpayment unless the tenant owes at least one month’s fair market rent, and the other ordinance requires landlords to provide relocation assistance to tenants forced to leave due to significant rent increases.
Tenants’ Rights Advocates Reach Landmark Settlement on Behalf of Californians Struggling With Pandemic Rent Debt
A landmark settlement has been reached in a case brought by tenants’ rights advocates alleging that the California Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) unconstitutionally operated the state’s Covid-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP or Housing is Key), which has led to qualified applicants missing out on the assistance they were promised after the pandemic destroyed many Californians’ livelihoods.
Tenant Rights Groups Celebrate Court Upholding New L.A. City Permanent Tenant Protections
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Denied AAGLA’s Preliminary Injunction and Allowed Tenant Groups to Join the City in the Defense of the Protections.
Attorneys for Community Groups Denounce California’s Move to Appeal Ruling in Covid-19 Rent Relief Lawsuit
In January, a Superior Court judge ordered the state to develop denial notices that satisfy constitutional due process protections for applicants. OAKLAND, CA – March 2, 2023 – Attorneys representing three community groups suing the State of California for wrongfully denying applicants without adequate process in its Covid-19 rent relief program released a statement today […]
California Says Emergency Rental Assistance Program Will Likely Run Out of Funds with Over 140,000 Applicants Still in Limbo
California Says Emergency Rental Assistance Program Will Likely Run Out of Funds with Over 140,000 Applicants Still in Limbo State lawyer says the program’s remaining $177 million could go to private contractor if the state is forced to comply with a Superior Court order, leaving no money for tenants. Oakland, California – January 23, 2023 […]
Court Rejects Billionaire Developer’s Attack on LA’s Emergency Eviction Protections
LOS ANGELES, November 18, 2022 — A developer’s legal attack on the city’s emergency eviction protections—one that threatened to undermine other protective ordinances and push countless low-income tenants into homelessness—was dismissed Thursday. The developer, Geoffrey Palmer, whose company owns more than 15,000 units in Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit in August of 2021 seeking to overturn […]
LAFLA Protects Section 8 Tenant With Swift Action
In California, many Section 8 tenants are fighting against various forms of housing discrimination, an issue that often impedes their stability and can leave them under financial duress. As the largest federal housing program in the US, Section 8 programs provide housing subsidies sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development to very low-income […]
Judge Orders State to Stop Denying Rental Assistance Applications Until Further Review
