Help Hold Sonoma County Landlords Accountable
SANTA ROSA, CA -- For decades tenants have had a "cause of action" against landlords for retaliatory eviction. That right has effectively been curtailed since 2007, when California courts "upended decades of precedent to erect a new, judicially-created barrier to lawsuits over illegal eviction activity," Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together writes on Beyond Chron.
To turn back the clock on this unfair restriction on tenant lawsuits, Assemblyman Mike Feuer (LA) has introduced AB 934 -- which would remove retaliatory eviction from the "litigation privileve." Click here for a PDF of the legislation.
A powerful landlord lobby, which now includes banks who have foreclosed - often improperly - on homeowners - is opposed to the bill, so this is the time to call your representatives in the Assembly and voice your support for the bill.
In response to legitimate concerns that the bill would expose landlords to liability for defamation based on their pleadings, the bill contains a free-speech exception. Landlords could assert the litigation privilege against defamation claims but not block retaliation claims.
Check out this page to find your assemblyperson and voice your support for AB914
