Selected Housing Cases
Tuesdays at CLC
Community Law Clinic students can be found most Tuesday mornings at the “mandatory settlement conference” calendar for the next week’s eviction cases. Here, Cody Venzke (’15) and Lauren Harding (’15) negotiate in San Mateo County Superior Court on behalf of their East Palo Alto tenant client. As a result of their work, the tenant was able to remain in her single family home, and the landlord agreed to necessary repairs.
Trial Prep Pays Off!
Melissa Runsten, ’15 and Thomas Rubinsky, ’14 pack their trial case for the next morning’s eviction jury trial in San Mateo County Superior Court. The case settled that morning, due to Melissa and Thomas’ extraordinary preparation and readiness to go to trial. The weekend before trial it was all hands on deck in the Community Law Clinic as the whole team pitched in with jury instructions, motions in limine, voir dire questions, etc. The work paid off with another unit of affordable housing preserved!
Students in Housing Court
A CLC student’s typical first step in an eviction case is assessing the legal sufficiency of the landlord’s initial pleading. Fatal defects can be attacked by a motion to strike or to dismiss which, if successful, can create opportunities to negotiate or, at the very least, give the tenant more time to relocate.