Breaking Story:Tentative Ruling Blocks Mass Eviction Of Oakland Public Housing Tenants

---Breaking News Story---

[Note:See Judge Winifred Smith's Tentative Ruling Further Down Below]

Court Blocks Eviction/s (34 families) At Lockwood Gardens In Oakland

By Lynda Carson

September 14, 2006

Oakland Housing Authority's (OHA) eviction case against 34 families who were accused of being Unlawful Occupants while residing at Lockwood Gardens, is about to crumble.

On Friday September 15, at 9am, in Department 31 in Oakland, the Honorable Superior Court Judge Winifred Smith is expected to make a ruling that will throw out most of the charges in a case affecting 34 families that were accused of being Unlawful Occupants at Lockwood Gardens public housing complex in Oakland California. See Tentative Ruling below...

The Oakland Housing Authority accused the tenants of working with an OHA clerk by name of Carolyn Wilson, in an effort to illegally move into their public housing units at Lockwood Gardens.

Back around early July, Carolyn Wilson was charged with around 65 felony charges by the Alameda County District Attorney's Office.

The 34 families have been accused of criminal activity by the OHA, but no charges have been filed against the families by the DA's Office.

For more on the smear campaign by the OHA against the 34 families facing eviction, do a Google search with the search terms; Carolyn Wilson & Oakland Housing Authority evictions http://www.google.com/

The tentative ruling in the case of Oakland Housing Authority VS Ira R. Turner, is expected to affect the eviction cases of all the families caught up into the Carolyn Wilson fraud case.

The Honorable Winifred Smith presides in Department 31 and hears law and motion matters in both limited and general jurisdiction cases at 9:00 a.m., Monday
through Friday. The location of Department 31 is the 2nd floor of the United States Post Office Building at 201 13th Street in Oakland.

Everyone is being invited to to Superior Court's Department 31, at 9am, as Judge Smith rules against the Oakland Housing Authority's efforts to evict the families involved.

For more details, call the Eviction Defense Center, and ask for Jorge Aguilar.

Eviction Defense Center (EDC)
510/452-4541

See Tentative Ruling and eviction story below...

---Tentative Ruling---
This Tentative Ruling is issued by Judge Winifred Y. Smith The Demurrer of Defendant Ira R. Turner to Second Amended Complaint is SUSTAINED as follows: 1. As to the Fourth Cause of Action to Quiet Title and for Rescission, the demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE
TO AMEND. Plaintiff has adequately stated grounds for rescission of the lease, consistent with Civil Code § 1689. While Plaintiff's employee is the person alleged
to have made the misrepresentations to procure the lease, it is also alleged that Defendant "knew and/or should have known that they were obtaining possession
of the Premises through Plaintiff's employee's actions that were not within the course and scope of said employee's employment and that said actions were
without the authority, knowledge and consent of Plaintiff." (FAC 12(b).) The allegation that Defendant knew that Plaintiff's employee was acting without
Plaintiff's authority and consent is sufficient, if proven, to show that Plaintiff's consent was given due to fraud and "with the connivance of" Defendant. (Civil Code §1689(b)(1).) However, the cause of action
does not sufficiently state each of the elements of a quiet title action per CCP §761.020. Thus, the general demurrer is SUSTAINED WITH LEAVE TO AMEND to permit Plaintiff to sufficiently allege each of the required elements under the statute. 2. As to the First Cause of Action for Forcible Detainer, the demurrer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. Defendant entered the property under the terms of a lease and with the apparent consent of Plaintiff. Defendant is not alleged to have made any false representations to Plaintiff in connection with the entry onto the
property. Rather, Plaintiff's employee is alleged to have made misrepresentations to Plaintiff. (See FAC 6, 7, 12(a).) Such an entry does not meet the requirements for forcible detainer. (CCP §1160(2); Moldovan v. Fischer (1957) 149 Cal.App.2d 600, 609.)
Even if the lease between the parties is determined not to be enforceable, that is not enough to establish that entry under that lease constitutes forcible detainer. (Cf. Carteri v. Roberts (1903) 140 Cal. 164,
167 [entry under a void lease does not constitute unlawful entry].) 3. As to the Third Cause of Action for Ejectment, the demurrer is likewise SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. The cause of action for
ejectment is an action to regain possession of a rental unit, and must comply with Measure EE. Having failed to do so, leave to amend would appear to be futile. 4. On the Fifth Cause of Action for Trespass, the demurrer is SUSTAINED WITHOUT LEAVE TO AMEND. Lack of consent is an element of this cause of action. (CACI 2000; Church of Christ in Hollywood v. Sup. Ct. (2002) 99 Cal.App4th 1244, 1252; Civic Western Corp.
v. Zila Industries, Inc. (1977) 66 Cal.App.3d 1, 16-17.) Because consent appears from the face of the complaint and the matters previously judicially noticed, it does not appear that Plaintiff can state a cause of action for trespass against Defendant. 5. On the Second Cause of Action for Declaratory Relief, the demurrer is OVERRULED. However, the Court notes that, given that the only cause of action potentially remaining appears to be one to quiet title and for rescission, declaratory relief appears to be redundant of the relief sought under that cause of action. The
Court will prepare the order. Defendant shall file and serve notice of entry of order. Plaintiff shall have 10 days leave to amend as stated herein. Defendant shall 10 days thereafter to respond.

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Poor Tenants Deceived by Oakland Housing Official Now Face the Nightmare of Mass Eviction
by Lynda Carson

May 2006

Due to an Oakland housing official's acts of fraud, 34 poor families face eviction from Lockwood Gardens, by order of the Oakland Housing Authority. Lydia Gans
photo

Fear and panic have set in at some of East Oakland's public housing units, as police agents from the Oakland Housing Authority have been making late-night visits to tenants, and demanding that the families
pack up and move within a five-day period.

After refusing to pack up and run, more than 30 families are facing mass eviction by the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA) from their public housing units at Lockwood Gardens, a Hope VI Project on 65th
Avenue in East Oakland.

The OHA is claiming that at least 34 families
currently facing eviction from Lockwood Gardens are unlawful occupants (squatters) who have illegally gained possession of the housing units. OHA officials have served them 30-day, forcible-detainer eviction
notices in an effort to remove them.

Click below for full story...

http://www.thestreetspirit.org/Mayreal2006/evictions.htm