December 10, 2015
San Bernardino Landlord Holds Controversial Open House
Was the California landlord to the terrorist couple entitled to open up the rental property to the news media? Internet videos show a frenzied swarm of camera crews exploring every cabinet and closet. So what if the San Bernardino landlord holds controversial open house? Commentators raised questions about preservation of evidence in the criminal investigation. There is also an ethics-in-journalism element. Given the heinousness of the crimes and public interest in foiling future attacks, it’s easy to overlook the landlord-tenant legal issues raised when tenants use a rental for criminal purposes and some die before termination of the lease. This story is of interest to any landlord with elderly tenants or who rents in a community with a crime problem.
According to law enforcement, Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik used the garage of the Redlands, California townhouse they rented as a homemade explosive device factory. They used their residence as a base for their December 2nd attack on the Inland Regional Center that tragically left over 14 people dead and many more wounded. The victims and their families deserve our continued concerns and prayers, especially as public attention shifts elsewhere. As a new father, I cannot fathom Farook and Malik’s decision to drop off their six-month-old daughter with a relative and then commit such a deplorable attack. While Malik’s pledge of allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria makes motive discernment easier, this blog post is about landlord-tenant law and not the politics-and-religion issues discussed thoroughly elsewhere. The deceased attackers were not the only residents of the property. Farook’s mother and the couple’s six month old baby also lived there. Law enforcement searched the premises and removed certain items of interest. According to news reports, they turned it back over to landlords Doyle & Judy Miller. On Friday, December 4, 2015, Doyle Miller held an informal press conference on the lawn of the townhouse. After the interview he opened up the house and permitted the news media and their cameras to search the house except for the garage.
Given the law enforcement’s interest in further investigations, the landlord’s interest in preventing additional notoriety to the property, the grandmother’s possessory interest in the place and the child’s unique vulnerability as a resident, heir, and orphan, it is shocking that the media obtained free access with their film crews. The reporters likely put their fingerprints all over the townhouse, moved items around, and possibly removed or destroyed parts of the townhouse or the occupants’ belongings. In fact, MSNBC later publicly apologized for broadcasting some photos and identification cards of some occupants. One can imagine the intense pressure the identification of the killers’ home must have placed on the Millers. They needed to cooperate with law enforcement. After the police search, the news media must have inquired about the inside of the house. The deceased’s shocking crimes do not conjure sympathy. One would not expect the grandmother and grandchild to ever live there again. It may have appeared easier to simply let the media swarm inside the house than to face their constant inquiries.
The Millers may have been concerned that refusal to cooperate with the media might lead to further questions about landlordly knowledge of the activities at the house. In an informal press conference held at the property, Doyle Miller stated that his tenants always paid their rent on time. The renters called a few times requesting landlord repairs. During his visits he never saw any guns or bombs. When asked if he ever went into the garage where law enforcement found evidence of pipe bomb manufacturing, he stated that once he went in there but he only saw some people repairing a car.
Good landlords check to make sure that prospective renters can pay their rent and won’t cause other problems. During the rental period, many obligations to maintain the property fall on the landlord. Most lease agreements provide for landlords to inspect the property for damage by the tenant or other causes during the rental period. Homemade bomb manufacturing is not just illegal. It is an ultra-hazardous activity involving explosive devices that can be easily set off. No landlord wants that in their townhouse no matter how timely the rent payments are.
Sometimes tenants engage in narcotics trade or other illegal activities. Tenants can be incarcerated or die. These are events that can lead to the termination of a tenancy. However, such events don’t necessarily cause the other occupants or the estate of the deceased to lose all of their rights in the premises or their belongings. In Virginia, like many places, a landlord cannot evict a residential tenant’s family without going through the courts. Hosting a media circus seems like a troublingly broad extension of a landlord’s right of inspection. Our legal system has many procedures in place to protect people from infringement of their rights to be secure in their own homes. News reports do not suggest that the townhouse or its contents were abandoned by the grandmother, infant, or the estate of the deceased. While the Millers must have been under a lot of pressure, it is not clear why they didn’t use California’s landlord-tenant laws and the provisions of the lease agreement to deal with the personal property and retake possession of the premises. The attorney’s fees would be a small price to pay for the value of the legal protection. Perhaps some of my readers may have some insights.
Landlords should not discriminate against prospective or current tenants based on their religion or national origin out of fear of renting to terrorists. I am not aware of any exception to anti-discrimination laws for instances where landlords associate a national origin or religion with types of illegal conduct. I’m wondering if any state legislatures will amend landlord-tenant, community associations, or mortgage statutes to give landlords, HOA’s, or lenders expanded legal privileges or duties to prevent homes from being used for terrorism. I’m concerned that homeowners’ rights are already under assault from different directions and such legislation would have unintended consequences.
Given the desire of the Farook family for privacy, I’m not sure if any legal claims will be brought against the Millers for hosting the media “open house.” The family may decide that any damages from loss of use of the townhouse or ownership of personal items is not worth the loss of privacy from media attention surrounding such a suit. However, given the high profile of this media event, the public may draw an incorrect inference that the Miller’s actions are advisable or without substantial risk. This is significant because home ownership is on the decline and renting is the trend. Many working people are unable to save a down payment necessary to purchase a home. In the event that tenants use a rental for illegal purposes and/or die before the leasehold is terminated, a landlord should consult with a qualified attorney before taking possession of the property. If occupants of rental properties are displaced by the criminal conduct of other tenants, they should also seek counseling to protect their rights.
Further Reading:
Rick Rojas, “Landlord Lets Reporters Into San Bernardino Suspects’ Home,” Dec. 4, 2015, NYTimes.com
Paul Janensch, “Was going through shooters’ home live appropriate?” Dec. 9, 2015, TCPalm.com
Photo Credit:
February 20, 2015
The Basics of Civil Litigation Discovery
At some point after the filing of a lawsuit in Virginia Circuit Court, initial disputes over the sufficiency of the complaint are resolved. The parties are now on notice of their opponents’ claims and defenses. The process of getting to this point was the focus of my previous blog post. Contrary to what one sees on T.V. or movies, parties do not immediately proceed to going to trial. Instead, lawyers and their clients begin to prepare for trial in a period called “discovery.” Discovery involves finding out more facts about the case. This post provides an overview of the basics of civil litigation discovery, with a focus on its purposes and tools in real estate cases. Why is there such a lengthy process for this? Consider three purposes of discovery:
- Hoarding. Preventing one side or another from “hoarding” documents and information about the case to the unfair detriment of others. For example, in a case between different homeowners’ association factions over control of the board of directors, whoever happens to have access to the minutes, resolutions, notices, amendments, etc., kept by the association must provide them to the other.
- Surprises. Lawyers, as a lot, are attracted to springing surprises on their opponents at trial. However, it may be contrary to the principles of justice for one side to hand the other a large stack of documents they have never seen before during the trial and expect the witness questioning to be meaningful. Discovery can mitigate unfair surprise.
- Effectiveness of Trial. The public places greater confidence in trial results that are based on documents and facts rather than the decisions made in the absence of existing evidence.
The methods of discovery are more formal than the fact gathering conducted outside of litigation. Informal investigation includes researching the documents and information within one’s control, talking to friendly witnesses, checking what is publicly available or that one’s bank can provide. Usually this doesn’t answer all questions. So what are the available forms of civil discovery? There are quite a few. The most useful in real estate and construction cases in Virginia circuit court are:
- Document Requests. The rules allow a party to request in writing an opponent’s documents. A party seeking production of documents must send a written request. The responding party then has 21 days in which to respond as to documents within their possession, custody or control. In large cases it usually takes significantly longer than 21 days to resolve a document request. Reviewing the relevant documents of one’s opponent is a central element of trial preparation. Contracts and other documents created before the dispute cannot, absent forgery, be changed to adapt to someone’s current story. When the judge or jury goes to make determinations of facts, the credibility of the parties and the key documents carry great weight. If a party fails to produce a document requested in discovery, they are not normally allowed to use it as an exhibit at trial. The documents of a third-party can be requested by serving them with a subpoena duces tecum.
- Interrogatories. Information sought may not necessarily be reflected in a document. In discovery, a party may submit written interrogatories to another party, seeking answers to specific questions. For example, a party may inquire into the factual support for their opponent’s claims or defenses. Parties usually ask for disclosure of all persons having knowledge about the facts of the case. Interrogatories are also a good tool for finding out about expert testimony that one’s opponent may present at trial. The answering party must respond within 21 days. The answers must be signed by a party under oath or affirmation.
- Requests for Admissions. Last August, I posted an article about the role of a party’s admissions in a federal trial in Maryland. In that case, a lawyer made an oral admission in a closing argument. His opponent did not make a motion to have the admission deemed binding before the jury went to deliberate. The jury made a decision contrary to the admission. The jury verdict ignoring the admission survived post-trial motions and appeal. Party admissions can be requested in discovery before they come out at trial. Parties are entitled to submit to the opponent formal, written requests for admission. The 21 day deadline applies here as well. Admitted responses are binding. These can be useful for resolving uncontested matters so that the trial can focus on what’s disputed.
- Depositions. How will a party or witness react to a line of questions at trial? Does a party or witness know something that can be useful to preparing one’s own case? In discovery, a party may take oral depositions of parties, experts or other witnesses. The deposition usually occurs at a law office. The parties, the lawyers and the witness meet in a conference room with a court reporter. The court reporter places the witness under oath, and then records all of the lawyers’ questions, objections and witness answers. Depositions of parties and experts are an important part of pretrial discovery in large cases.
- View of Real Estate. In many real estate or construction cases, the most significant piece of evidence is the building or land itself. If ordered, the jury travels to the property to view it as evidence. More commonly, the appearance of property is put into evidence by photographs or video. A party not in possession or control of the real estate is entitled to view it. This can be an effective way of expanding one’s knowledge about the case.
Not all of these tools will need to be employed in every case. In addition to these forms of discovery, there are common areas where parties dispute over whether the discovery has been properly sought or provided. These are usually the subject of objections and motions:
- Relevance. Discovery cannot be used to explore any and every topic. The requests must explore relevant, admissible evidence or information that is reasonably calculated to lead to admissible evidence. Although not unlimited, the scope of discovery is broad.
- Confidentiality. A party may have confidentiality concerns about turning over documents or information. These concerns can be addressed by a protective order regulating the use and disposition of confidential documents or other information.
- Privileges to Withhold. Frequently attorneys will interpose objections to discovery requests. One justification for withholding documents is the attorney-client privilege. Communications between an attorney and his client are not subject to discovery. Despite the apparent simplicity of this concept, disputes over assertion of the attorney-client privilege are a frequent source of discovery disputes. There are other privilege and objections that are applicable in certain situations.
- Spoliation. In the age of computers, e-mails, text messages, computer files and other electronic data are easily created and easily deleted. Once litigation is threatened or pending, parties and witnesses should take action to preserve evidence, including electronically stored information for potential use in the lawsuit.
- Motions to Compel. Lawyers must make reasonable efforts to resolve disputes over the legitimacy of objections, the sufficiency of responses and other discovery disputes without putting it before a judge. When disputes cannot be resolved, typically one party will bring a motion to compel discovery against the other.
- Sanctions. The failure to obey discovery orders can subject a party to a variety of sanctions, including awards of attorney’s fees, dismissal of claims or defenses, exclusion of witnesses and other punishments.
By better understanding the basics of civil litigation discovery, one can adopt strategies that make better use of time, energy and resources pre-trial. Implementing discovery strategies proper to the needs and circumstances of the case pave the way towards a favorable result.
