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  1. #1

    Default Can You Sue Over False Allegations in an Eviction Notice

    My question involves an eviction in the state of: California

    My friends received a "Three Day Notice to Perform Covenants or Quit.

    Conditions/Covenants stated the following:

    #12 Rental Agreement- Tenant agreed to keep the premises and all items in good order and conditon.
    Tenant is a "Hoarder" and has flammable items stored in house and garage and possible vermin infestation throughout the property.

    On the same day after the notice was received, I called the landlord and spoke over the phone.

    I told the landlord that the terms and conditions she cited may be inaccurate and that if they were, then wrongfully calling the tentant a hoarder and alleging flammable items and vermin infestation which was factually incorrect might be defamatory and an abuse of the eviction process and could expose her to liablity.

    She quickly replied that "I have taken pictures and I can prove it!."

    That same evening she called the city cops to the residence. Three police officers and a fireman demanded to be allowed in after she alleged to them the above and said that dangerous conditions existed which needed to be remedied immediately and she did not want to wait until the three days were up to inspect the property again.

    The police and fireman were unanimous. No sign of infestation anywhere. No flammable item storage problem at all. Hoarding not present, and if it did exist it was no less than or equal than one on a scale of ten. The "hoarding expert" that was also scheduled to come was apparently cancelled when the officers and firemen realized that an expert would not be needed to make the assesment that stored items were not inappropriate for a residence of this nature.
    The landlord walked thru the house with the officers and fireman and examined everything. At no time did she allege that the property had already been cleaned up since her last inspection visit earlier in the week or that the tenant had removed any items prior to her arrival. Indeed, the tenants had not removed items yet since they were waiting the arrival of a rental truck to begin hauling some trash away.

    The landlord left without speaking to the tenants regarding the status of the three day eviction notice. She did not rescind the notice or modify it. No apology or recognition on her part for her accusations which were all judged as completely without merit by the officers and fireman that she forced into the residence.

    My friends are not sophisticated on these matters and the man is elderly. The man was interrogated by police to see if he knew what day it was, etc. to see if he was lucid and competent, which was obvously the case.

    I was a witness to all of this. The police officer said that if there was still an attempt to evict made on this 3 day notice that the tenants should call him immediately as there was no grounds for eviction based on the covenants and complaint cited.

    The tenants have been there 11 years without incident or problem until this latest assault upon them by the landlord thru the eviction process. They have been quite terrorized and traumitized by this whole situation and if it were not for my help things would be much worse for them.

    It seems that the Landlord received adequate warning from me that her facts might be incorrect. Her statement that she had pictures means that she had adequate opportunity to obtain expert review and advice to assess the validity of her accusations before attempting to use the authorities as her personal gestapo. Her failure to rescind the notice or advise the tenants of same seems to further compound her callousness and deliberate attempts to intimidate and coerce my tenant friends.

    QUESTION? DO THE TENANTS HAVE ANY LEGAL RECOURSE FOR DAMAGES AND COMPENSATION AGAINST THIS LANDLORD FOR HER UNCONSCIONABLE ACTIONS AND HER COMPLETE FABRICATION OF THE FACTS USED TO PERSECUTE THEM WITH THE THREE DAY NOTICE?

    Thanks to all of you forum members...

    Bill

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    Quote Quoting Bill Mangano
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    QUESTION? DO THE TENANTS HAVE ANY LEGAL RECOURSE FOR DAMAGES AND COMPENSATION AGAINST THIS LANDLORD FOR HER UNCONSCIONABLE ACTIONS AND HER COMPLETE FABRICATION OF THE FACTS USED TO PERSECUTE THEM WITH THE THREE DAY NOTICE?
    they can go to court and defend themselves if the LL files an unlawful detainer action. If the claims are not substantiated, they will not be evicted.

    but to your question:

    just what damages do you suggest the tenants incurred? If they want to spend a lot of money to get nothing but vindication, they might consider hiring an attorney and sue for intentional infliction of emotional distress. All they have to do is prove their claim.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    I don't think an IIED claim is viable.
    Quote Quoting Christensen v. Superior Court (1991) 54 Cal.3d 868 [2 Cal. Rptr.2d 79, 820 P.2d 181
    ]"The elements of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress are: '(1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff's suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant's outrageous conduct...." Conduct to be outrageous must be so extreme as to exceed all bounds of that usually tolerated in a civilized community.'.... The defendant must have engaged in 'conduct intended to inflict injury or engaged in with the realization that injury will result.'..."

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    Concur with both jk and Mr. K.

    Really, about all your friends have is the opportunity to defend themselves in an unlawful detainer suit, should one go forward.

    Not only is an IIED claim unlikely to go anywhere, neither is a defamation claim, and both are incredibly expensive actions to bring forth to begin with. We're talking multiple thousands of dollars, usually over multiple years.

    I understand that your friends are angry and upset, and they certainly have every right to be. But there is no law requiring the landlord to apologize, and no law requiring her to not be an unmitigated jackass.

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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    Quote Quoting LawResearcherMissy
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    Concur with both jk and Mr. K.

    Really, about all your friends have is the opportunity to defend themselves in an unlawful detainer suit, should one go forward.

    Not only is an IIED claim unlikely to go anywhere, neither is a defamation claim, and both are incredibly expensive actions to bring forth to begin with. We're talking multiple thousands of dollars, usually over multiple years.

    I understand that your friends are angry and upset, and they certainly have every right to be. But there is no law requiring the landlord to apologize, and no law requiring her to not be an unmitigated jackass.
    I agree with this wholeheartedly. However, I am also going to add that it may be time for your friends to plan to find another place to live. If they are month to month, the landlord is likely to give them notice to leave the property (which she can do legally) or notice that she will not renew the lease if they are on a fixed period lease.

    She obviously wants them out for one reason or another. Otherwise, there would be no motivation to be so nasty to long term, paying tenants.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    Quote Quoting LawResearcherMissy
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    Not only is an IIED claim unlikely to go anywhere, neither is a defamation claim....
    For a defamation claim, you also need an unprivileged publication to a third party.
    Quote Quoting jk
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    if there was no honest belief by the LL the LL's statements were true, why could it not be seen as nothing more than an attempt to cause distress for the tenant?
    Even if it were assumed to be "an attempt to cause distress for the tenant", that alone would fall far short of what it takes to constitute an IIED claim. Issuing a notice to quit premised upon the representation that a tenant is hording is not the type of conduct that is going to be regarded as "outrageous" or that "exceeds all bounds of that usually tolerated in a civilized community" nor is it the type of conduct that would foreseeably result in severe or extreme emotional distress. Nor, for that matter, is there any allegation that severe emotional distress resulted.

    Even after clean-up, the OP states that following a clean-up by the tenants, "Hoarding not present, and if it did exist it was no less than or equal than one on a scale of ten.", so we have a tacit admission from the OP that this was fairly characterized as hoarding, albeit minor hoarding. Prior to the clean-up, it's reasonable to infer that the situation was considerably worse.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    if there was no honest belief by the LL the LL's statements were true, why could it not be seen as nothing more than an attempt to cause distress for the tenant? I would see calling out the fire department and police for a situation not actually as described as outrageous.


    conduct intended to inflict injury or engaged in with the realization that injury will result.'..."
    exactly.


    the problem with such a claim, as I see it, is it is based on the LL's opinion of the condition of the residence. That could defeat any claim to intentional attempts to cause distress. Saving materials to one person is hoarding to another.

    almost everything that is not metal, and even some of things that are metal depending on the metal involved, is flammable so that statement is true regardless of the condition of the place.

    and any time there is a level of storing material that does not allow all areas to be cleaned, there is a concern of vermin.

    so, most likely there is no claim available. I was tossing it out there more as a pacifier than anything realizing the limitations of those involved would not likely allow such an action to be taken.

  8. #8

    Default Re: Damages for 3 Day Notice to Evict Based on False Facts of Covenant Violations

    Thank you very much...

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