Legal

Question 1

How long does a tenant have to respond to a summons and complaint?

Answer 1

5 court days

Question 2

What will likely happen if there is a default judgment (no answer to a summons and complaint)?

Answer 2

Lock out

7-9 days later, the sheriff will post a notice to vacate. Then, 5-7 days later, sheriff will return and force everyone out in 5 minutes

Question 3

What are court days?

Answer 3

all days except:

-saturday, sunday
-court holidays

Question 4

What does the answer to a summons and complaint do?

Answer 4

-deny any false statements made by their landlord in the compliant AND
-state any defenses they may have to the eviction

Question 5

What is “relief from forfeiture?”

Answer 5

if the tenant has experienced a hardship, but have no legal defense. The tenant can still ask the judge to be able to pay everything owed so they can stay in the unit

Question 6

What are the requirements to ask for ““relief from forfeiture?”

Answer 6

-Have all rent owed by the trial date;
-be realistically able to pay all future rent; AND
-be able to pay attorney’s fees, court costs, and other costs

Question 7

What can a tenant do if a court orders eviction?

Answer 7

a tenant can also request that the court “stay” (or hold off) the eviction for up to 40 days, but the landlord can demand payment for those 40 days.

+a tenant can only request a “stay of execution” if the landlord is present on the trial date or they have given ex parte notice (advance notice in writing) to the landlord. A tenant can check their local court procedures with the courtroom clerk or on the local court website if they have questions about how to give notice for a “stay.” If a tenant is requesting a “stay of execution” because of extreme hardship, the tenant should bring all of their records and other evidence that prove the hardship to court. For example, the tenant could bring medical records showing when they were in the hospital.

Question 8

When does discovery begin?

Answer 8

Whichever comes first:
-5 days after the landlord serves the tenant with the summons and complaint OR
-5 days after the tenant has filed an answer to the unlawful detainer lawsuit

Question 9

What is an interrogatory?

Answer 9

written questions that must be responded to in writing

Question 10

What are the six common objections to discovery requests?

Answer 10

OCRAPS

-Overbroad/Unduly Burdensome
-Compound question
-Relevance
-Asked and answered
-Privacy/Relevance
-Speculation

Question 11

When is evidence relevant?

Answer 11

evidence that has any tendency in reason to prove or disprove any disputed fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action

Question 12

If a tenant qualifies under the Tenant Protection Act of 2019, what are the main benefits?

Answer 12

-the landlord must have a “just cause” in order to terminate a tenancy
-limits annual rent increases

Question 13

Who is covered by the Tenant Protection Act of 2019?

Answer 13

Tenants who have lived in the unit for one year or more

Question 14

What are the exceptions to the Tenant Protection Act of 2019?

Answer 14

-buildings that have been constructed in the last 15 years
-single family homes, if the owner is not a corporation
-owner occupied homes
-units restricted by regulatory restriction or other recorded document
-mobile homes

Question 15

What are the two types of “just cause?”

Answer 15

-at fault just cause
-no fault just cause

Question 16

What are some examples of at fault just cause?

Answer 16

-non-payment of rent
-breach of material term of the lease
-nuisance
-waste
-using premises for unlawful purposes
-refusal to allow lawful entry
-refusal to execute a new lease on similar terms

Question 17

What are some examples of no fault just cause?

Answer 17

-owner move-in
-substantial rehab
-intent to demolish
-Ellis
-compliance with order, ordinance

Question 18

Relocation is required for no fault just cause. Payment is equal to one month’s rent. It can come in the form of waiver of rent

Answer 18

o

Question 19

Generally, once a tenant has lived there for 12 months, just cause is required. What is the exceptions?

Answer 19

new adult roommates

Question 20

What is the Ellis Act?

Answer 20

a law that allows landlords to evict residential tenants to “go out of the rental business” in spite of desires by local governments to compel them to continue providing rental housing

Question 21

What is the Costa-Hawkins Act?

Answer 21

A law that preempts local rent control ordinances. It does this by:
-exempting from rent control: single family dwellings, condos, post-1995 construction
-prohibits strict rent control

Question 22

What are some less common protected classes under FEHA and Unruh Act?

Answer 22

-gender identity
-sexual orientation
-source of income
-citizenship
-primary language
-immigration status
-age

Question 23

Even if a policy is neutral, consider whether it creates a disparate impact on members of a specific protected class.

Answer 23

o

Question 24

In CA, a landlord is not allowed to ask about your immigration status

Answer 24

If the landlord somehow finds out about a person’s immigration status, it is illegal for him to tell anyone else

Question 25

What are the options when there is a breach of the warranty of habitability?

Answer 25

-call the city or county building inspector and report the condition
-“repair and deduct”
-withhold rent
-move out without notice

Question 26

What are the limits on “repair and deduct?”

Answer 26

-reasonable notice must be given to the landlord (generally 30 days)
-cannot spend more than one month’s rent
-cannot do this more than twice each year

Question 27

What is the effect of a landlord retaliating against the tenant?

Answer 27

this is a defense to the unlawful detainer action AND the landlord may be required to pay damages

Question 28

What are some common forms of retaliation?

Answer 28

-filing an unlawful detainer action
-increasing rent
-decreasing services
-threatening or reporting the tenant to immigration authorities

Question 29

How do you show discriminatory intent under the CA FEHA?

Answer 29

-it is discriminatory when a protected group status is a “motivating factor” in committing a discriminatory housing practice. This means it may still be intentional is there are other factors that motivated the unlawful practice
-direct evidence is not required

Question 30

How do businesses overcome a disparate impact claim?

Answer 30

by showing their action or inaction is “necessary” to the operation of the business

Question 31

How do individuals overcome a disparate impact claim?

Answer 31

by showing their action or inaction is “necessary” to achieve an important purpose sufficiently compelling to override the discriminatory effect

Question 32

Water must be both hot and cold

Answer 32

o

Question 33

What is a good resource when there is a question about whether something is a violation of the warranty of habitability?

Answer 33

look to the industry codes found in the:
-Uniform Housing Code
-Uniform Building Code
-Uniform Plumbing Code
-Uniform Mechanical Code
-National Electrical Code

Question 34

Where do you look to in determining whether housing provided to employees complies with health and safety codes?

Answer 34

the Employee Housing Act

Question 35

What are the unspecified conditions?

Answer 35

neither the state codes nor court decisions specifically address maintenance of cooking, refrigeration, laundry, and other major appliances that are furnished with the unit.

Question 36

What happens when the landlord’s alleged failure to take reasonable security precautions harms the tenant?

Answer 36

the usual route is a “premises liability” suit pleading tort action, rather than a breach of the warranty of habitability

Question 37

What is required for there to be a breach of the warranty of habitability?

Answer 37

There must be a SUBSTANTIAL defect or statutory noncompliance

Premises do not need to be in perfect condition so long as there is substantial compliance with applicable code standards. Otherwise the issue is merely de minimis,

Question 38

What is required for there to be a breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment?

Answer 38

the landlord’s act or omission must be SUBSTANTIAL

+It does not apply, typically, to the acts of an unrelated third party

Question 39

For instance, a landlord’s failure to curb a tenant’s disruptive or abusive conduct might be found to breach the covenant of quiet enjoyment running in favor of other tenants at the premises. Whether the landlord’s omission to act has breached the duty to preserve tenants’ quiet enjoyment is a question of fact.

Answer 39

o

Question 40

What happens if the lease was negotiated in spanish?

Answer 40

the tenant is entitled to receive subsequent documents and the notice in Spanish

Question 41

Clio open date?

Answer 41

the open date in clio is when a lawyer (or I) first contact a client

Question 42

What are some common reasons why a notice may be defective?

Answer 42

-wrong amount of time given
-does not include required language or advisories
-overstatement of rent due
-facts stated in the notice are not true
-facts stated in the notice, even if true, do not meet legal requirements for eviction
-mobile home substantive laws