LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Landlords who are trying to overturn Los Angeles’ moratorium on evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic have not shown they are likely to succeed, a federal judge has ruled.
On Nov. 13, Judge Dean Pregerson denied the preliminary injunction sought by the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles. Instead, he suggested elected officials to address the issue.
“Courts are an imperfect tool to resolve such conflicts,” Pregerson wrote. “So too are ordinances and statutes that shift economic burdens from one group to another.
“The court respectfully implores our lawmakers to treat this calamity with the attention it deserves… Hundreds of thousands of tenants pitted against tens of thousands of landlords – that is the tragedy that brings us here.”
The AAGLA filed suit in federal court on June 11 against the City, Mayor Eric Garcetti and his city council, who “hastily” implemented ordinances that prevent landlords from giving the boot to tenants who refuse to pay.
“While purportedly intended to provide relief to tenants so impacted, the ordinances are not tailored to a tenant’s actual inability to pay rent and significantly (and needlessly) infringe on the constitutional rights of all lessors and landlords within the City,” the complaint says.
Lawyers at Rutan & Tucker are representing the apartment association. Pregerson wrote that the moratorium substantially affects landlords’ contract rights but does so in a reasonable manner, considering the circumstances.
Professors at UCLA wrote in an amicus brief that ending Los Angeles’ moratorium on evictions would be unfair to Black and Latino renters in the city.