California E&S Insurance

Landlord stole my cello & illegally evicted me during the moratorium. He has a history of illegal evictions. Damages exceed $15,000+ Background info: I am a cello player and have been playing for 17 years. It was my life and my passion. I was 2 semesters away from finishing my Bachelor's in Fine Arts in Cello Performance when the pandemic turned my life upside down. I lost my job within the first couple of months of the pandemic and got behind only a month on rent before I resumed work and returned to making regular payments. ​ My landlord used this as an opportunity to illegally evict me and steal my cello from me (valued at $15,000+). I was never served eviction papers. It was also brought to my attention that he has illegally evicted tenants in the past, who are willing to testify to this if necessary. Less than a year from obtaining my degree, I had to forfeit my scholarship and put school on pause because of this, as well as pursue alternative employment options. Obviously my future is forever changed because of this man who has deprived me of not just the joy of playing, but the profession and career. I have night terrors because of this. This experience has been incredibly traumatic for me and has plagued me with terrible insomnia and has sent me to mental health care and sleep specialists who have thankfully have helped me find my footing. I also have since spent the time saving up money to pay for a lawyer to assist me in filing a lawsuit. ​ **My main purpose for making this public inquiry is for preparing my lawsuit against him.** After receiving free legal aid, it is my understanding that I can sue for 3x the damages (my cello) or 3x rent. I am wondering if I can sue for additional emotional damages as well as financial damages from the loss of my performance-based scholarship. I really want to resume my life and complete my degree. I feel so empty inside without my cello. I can't stand listening to music. I feel tortured because I am playing cello in my head constantly. It's crippling. ​ Here are the details: * I lost my job during the governor-issued moratorium on Florida evictions due to the pandemic. I was without work for about six weeks. I regularly paid rent on time, often early. * I notified my landlord ahead of time that I would not be able to make rent that month and requested a payment plan over the next few months when I found work. Unfortunately, we agreed to a 3-month payment plan over the phone— later over text, he pretended that conversation never took place. * After this, all further correspondence was conducted over text so it could be on record. * He instructed that I had to be vacated by the first of the month, which I said was too short of notice to find a new rental. I again requested we draft a payment plan on terms he could agree on and reminded him of the moratorium by sending him the signed document. * I also sent him a “Notice of COVID-19 Impact on Rent” letter, under the advice of a tenant protection advocacy group: >Dear \[Landlord\], > >This letter is to notify you that I have experienced a loss of income, increased expenses and/or other financial circumstances related to the pandemic. Until further notice, the COVID-19 emergency may impact my ability to pay rent. I am not waiving my right to assert any other defenses. Tenants impacted by the COVID-19 crisis are protected from eviction for nonpayment per emergency declaration(s) from: > >• Governor Ron DeSantis, Executive Order 20-137, June 1, 2020 > >Congress passed the CARES Act on March 27, 2020 (Public Law 116-136). Tenants in covered properties are also protected from eviction for non-payment or any other reason until August 23, 2020. Tenants cannot be charged late fees, interest, or other penalties through July 25, 2020. Please let me know right away if you believe this property is not covered by the CARES Act and explain why the property is not covered. In order to document our communication and to avoid misunderstandings, please reply to me via mail or text rather than a call or visit. > >Thank you for your understanding and cooperation, > >\[Tenant\] ​ * He responded by telling me his informal text instructing me to vacate the property by the first was not a notice of eviction, but of a “lease non-renewal,” since three months prior, my 1-year lease was up and I was paying month-to-month at that point (something I’ve done before with other landlords.) * I gave a conceivable move-out day to my landlord (the 25th of July, as some of my protections from the CARES Act expired on that day), and tried to get him to acknowledge it but he never responded. * I was able to secure a rental property far before that move-out date. The new property manager required rental verification for move-in, and my landlord amicably and quickly obliged. * I had begun the move-out process after this, over the course of a week before a new move-out date was provided by me to my landlord. * On the night before my move-out date, my landlord went into my apartment and cleared out the whole place. He claimed the door was open and the place was trashed. He took photos. I left my door locked. * He changed the locks and moved all of my belongings to the road. * Of those belongings, my nicer kitchen appliances and electronics were missing. * Most importantly, my cello, cello case, and bow were missing. These have a combined value of $15,000+. * He claimed those items were not in the house. * I called the police who said they required access to the apartment in order to verify that my cello was stolen in a police report. I repeatedly tried contacting my landlord for access to the apartment but he ignored me. * The police could not conduct an investigation on the theft, and unfortunately, I had no insurance on the instrument to aid in an inquiry on my missing cello. * The police informed me that no county clerks were issuing evictions, no judges were signing them, and no police were delivering them, so my eviction was in fact illegal. * I sought out legal aid, who told me I may pursue an action for prohibitive acts. Apparently, if you sue for prohibitive acts you can sue for 3 times the amount of rent or actual damages (loss of your personal property and any cost arising from the lockout), whichever is greater. * I was told that I can sue the landlord in Small Claims Court without an attorney if your damages are no more than $5,000. However, since my claims exceed $8000 in value, I would have to hire an attorney to file my lawsuit in the County Court. If I sue for 3x the damages, this would exceed $30,000 which means I would need a lawyer to file in the Circuit Court. * I was advised I must be prepared to have a lawyer in the likely event that a suit I bring against my landlord, he may file counterclaims and sue me for owed rent, breach of contract, damages, etc. * Because of this, I have been working and saving up money for legal fees. I have been able to build a good amount of savings. * Upon hearing about this, a former co-worker of mine reached out to me to let me know that while she was a former neighbor of that apartment, she knew of someone who was illegally evicted from the same apartment by the same landlord. She put me in contact with her. * I spoke with her, and she told me how he put a phony eviction notice on her door AFTER clearing her place out, keeping all of her furniture and personal belongings, save for the few things he saw as trash and threw to the side of the road. She told me she also heard of other tenants who were illegally evicted by this landlord. **What I Need to Know:** 1. Could someone tell me what type of lawyer should I contact? How much should I expect to pay in legal fees? 2. How much can I sue for? If I can prove (and I can) that my property exceeded $8,000 in value, can I sue for 3x that? Can I sue for my loss of education/scholarship? Or emotional damages? 3. If this is the case, is it worth it to pursue a lawsuit with damages exceeding $30,000 in the Circuit Court, or should I only file under $30,000 in the County Court? 4. [I was given this packet for assistance in filing a small claims lawsuit](https://www2.duvalclerk.com/resources/adobe/SmallClaimsPacket_20200101.pdf), as well as [this form.](https://www.flcourts.org/content/download/403010/file/indigent_application.pdf) Can I use this same paperwork to file a lawsuit with damages exceeding $8,000 outside the Small Claims Court? 5. Can I also pursue Replevin Action in an attempt to get my cello returned to me? If so, can/should I also sue for the damages previously mentioned? 6. How much in fees should I expect to pay to the court when I file? 7. How do I present the sworn statement of the previous tenant who was illegally evicted to show a pattern of this criminal behavior? Do I acquire sworn statements of those who could back her story? Does it need to be signed? 8. Besides that statement, correspondence with the landlord, proof of purchase/official appraisal of my cello's value, my "Notice of COVID-19 Impact on Rent" letter, the moratorium, letters from my doctors detailing the impact of the crime on my health, my scholarship award letter, what other evidence should I provide when filing my suit? 9. Do I really need a lawyer? In the information I was provided, it was vague when saying that I could file a suit without a lawyer for damages under $5,000. Could I conceivably do this by myself in the County or Circuit Court? 10. What did the legal advisor mean when they said I would have to be prepared for a countersuit from my landlord? How much would this countersuit set me back financially with or without a lawyer? ​ I wish I had a tl;dr, but unfortunately, this is a complicated situation that I expect requires complex litigation. If you made it this far, thank you for reading! If you didn't, I don't blame you. But I hope at the very least a post like this can bring attention to actions to combat the unprecedented predatory nature of landlords during this pandemic. Thank you for any and all advice!

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