Recent Court Rulings

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Facts: Two residents signed a lease in June 2010, in which one was identified as the “tenant” and the other was identified as “co-tenant.” One day, the co-tenant confronted his neighbor and physically struck him. The neighbor then filed a complaint with the police department. The day after the confrontation, the PHA sent the tenant a termination notice. The tenant requested an informal telephone conference to review the determination to terminate her residency.

Facts: A resident was arrested near her apartment complex and later charged with possession of cocaine and resisting law enforcement officers. Three weeks later, the PHA sent the resident a “Notice to Terminate Lease.” The notice stated that the PHA was terminating her lease because of her cocaine possession arrest. She was given 30 days to vacate the property, and the notice informed her that she didn't qualify for a pre-termination hearing because of the nature of her arrest. She later pled guilty to possession of cocaine and resisting law enforcement.

Facts: An owner participating in the Section 8 program asked a court to require the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to intervene in his city's “personal-vendetta-driven” administration of its Section 8 program. The owner claimed that city officials have forced his Section 8 residents to move out of his units and that Tucson officials approved two of his Section 8 contracts in 2010 before informing him shortly thereafter that they wouldn't be honored.

Facts: Police officers searched a resident's daughter and found an envelope containing white powder in her pocketbook. At the time of the search, the daughter told the officers that it was not hers and that she didn't know what it was. She was then told by an officer at the scene that it was cocaine, and, in response, she told the officers that she didn't use drugs.

Facts: After a resident passed away, her son asked the PHA to consider him as a “remaining family member.” According to the PHA's policy, a remaining family member is a member of the original tenant family and may succeed to a former resident's lease if he or she is otherwise eligible for public housing in accordance with the admissions standards for applicants.

Facts: An owner sued to evict a low-income resident from a unit that was part of a privately operated site developed on city-owned land with assistance from a local redevelopment agency. Her annual lease had been twice renewed and her rent subsidy approved through the end of the fiscal year.

Facts: A local PHA hired a temporary maintenance mechanic. The man was assigned to work under a supervisor, and his project was to install shower stalls in public housing in East St. Louis, Ill. While working on the shower-installation project, the mechanic complained to co-workers about the shoddy workmanship of various housing authority employees working on the project.

Facts: A local PHA knew that a resident was incarcerated at the county jail when it sent a letter to her home address notifying her that it was terminating her housing assistance payments. The resident completed her sentence, returned to her unit, and discovered the termination notice after the appeal deadline had passed.

The PHA denied her request for a hearing as untimely. The resident sued, claiming denial of due process, and asked the court to require that her housing assistance payments be continued while the lawsuit was pending.

Facts: The owner of a project-based Section 8 housing site started an eviction proceeding against a resident for violating a substantial obligation of his tenancy. According to the owner, the resident had another unit that was subsidized by the local housing authority and he failed to recertify and supply information pertaining to his household income, household composition, and other eligibility requirements for the years 2010 and 2011.

Facts: A resident is a participant in the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program. One day she got involved in a physical altercation with two other women. According to the resident, the other females were unknown to her, intoxicated, and physically attacked her first. She said she only responded in kind by physically defending herself.