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A Portland tenant who alleged unsafe conditions at her southeast Portland building won a $105,000 settlement from the property management company.
Tenant Aleina Langford, who lived at a complex on Southeast Ash Street, alleged unsafe conditions that were repeatedly ignored by the landlord. The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court in June 2017, had sought up to $1 million from A & G Rental Management.
Related: Tenant from East Portland Complex Files $1 Million Suit Against Landlord
WW chronicled the developments at the Ash Street building after the management company gave tenants the choice between a 45-percent rent increase or a no-cause eviction.
The building was also the first to be organized by the renters advocacy group Portland Tenants United.
The case was amended before it was settled to seek punitive damages, similar to a case against the sprawling and decaying Portland complex Wimbledon Square and Gardens, where a tenant won $20 million.
The Ash Street case is unusual in that it successfully sought compensation from a landlord for ignoring unsafe conditions.
"We think this is a fair result," says Langford's attorney Michael Fuller, partner at
the OlsenDaines law firm.
"This case is somewhat unique because our complaint sought compensation solely for emotional harm caused by an alleged failure to maintain the apartments in a safe condition," Fuller says. "Oregon law recognizes the special relationship between a landlord and its tenant, and juries can allow compensation for emotional harm when a landlord is negligent in performing its duties."
A representative of A & G could not be reached for comment.
Portland Tenants United said the case should be a warning to landlords.
"It would have been a lot cheaper to work with the Ash Street tenants union," says Margot Black, an organizer for PTU. "It sends a strong signal to landlords. They can dig their heels in, but we know we are on the right side of the law and the right side of history. We don't give up."