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Harold* came to VIP seeking representation in an eviction case. Harold rented a room and bathroom from his landlord. He did not have access to a kitchen. He experienced multiple habitability violations during his tenure in the room, including a leaking roof, a lack of running water in the bathroom, and an incomplete interior wall. The landlord refused to fix these issues. On top of that, Harold alleged the landlord was renting to five more tenants than his license allowed.
Harold was sued for about $12,000 in unpaid rent. When he came to VIP, he explained his landlord had been refusing to accept the rent for several months. He had text messages to prove this and he had been setting aside the money he owed. Still, the landlord sought to remove him.
We referred Harold’s case to Jordan*, a trial lawyer who spends his days representing landlords in eviction cases in Philadelphia’s Municipal Court. Jordan knows firsthand how many tenants go to court unprepared and unrepresented. Each VIP client he takes on (after a thorough conflict check, naturally) benefits from his detailed knowledge of landlord/tenant court.
Jordan, who has a soft spot for defendants enduring egregious living conditions, immediately reached out to a contact at Licenses & Inspections and asked them to post a cease-operations notice on the property. He explained to his client that he may need to stay with family until the case was resolved.
Meanwhile, Jordan strategized with VIP’s landlord/tenant staff attorney on the possibility of raising a habitability counterclaim. We always encourage volunteers to pursue counterclaims when possible. Between Harold’s case facts and Jordan’s expertise, we thought we might have a winner.
Jordan demanded a trial and raised the counterclaim before the Municipal Court judge. He prevailed easily, and not only did the judge waive the $12,000 in back rent sought by the landlord, he also ruled in our client’s favor on the counterclaim. He awarded Harold a judgment in the amount of $5,000. After a little hounding from Jordan, the landlord remitted the entire amount.
Harold walked away from a landlord/tenant nightmare with, if not a new lease on life, then at least a fair bit of money to find a better home. Meanwhile, Jordan continues to put his expertise to use for our tenant clients.
*All names are pseudonyms.