A Maryland tenant was paid $70,000 in an illegal eviction settlement after Whitney, LLP’s illegal eviction lawyers filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court.  Read more about the facts below.  If you were the victim of an illegal eviction in Maryland, you have significant legal rights.  Whitney, LLP’s illegal eviction lawyers have experience filing illegal eviction lawsuits and recovering significant compensation against landlords across Maryland.

Maryland landlords often act illegally in ways that harm their tenants.  Fortunately, Maryland tenants have more legal rights than they often realize.

The illegal eviction lawyers of Whitney, LLP have successfully recovered significant compensation for our clients in illegal eviction cases including for economic loss, property damage, emotional distress including for the destruction of items of sentimental value, and the cancelling of back-rent due.

Read about Whitney, LLP’s $275,000 Mistaken Eviction Lawsuit Settlement where a landlord evicted the wrong apartment on eviction day.

Call Whitney, LLP’s illegal eviction attorneys at 410 583 8000, or use our Quick Contact Form, to discuss your potential case.

Here is our YouTube Channel  for our videos on a variety of claims we provide representation in for Maryland consumers.  Read more about our cases on Whitney, LLP’s Blog.

The following cities in Maryland have the highest rates of eviction: Baltimore, Hyattsville, Suitland, District Heights, Glen Burnie, Laurel, Frederick, Hagerstown, Salisbury, and Dundalk.  If any of those evictions were performed illegally, tenants can fight back, including seeking an illegal eviction settlement.

Illegal Eviction Settlement – Facts of the Case

Before the $70,000 illegal eviction settlement was paid, our client was subjected to illegal action by the landlord.  Our client’s lease was ending at the end of the month, and our client had already rented another apartment and started the move out process.

With about two weeks left on his lease, he had removed the majority of his personal property.  What remained in the “old” apartment was several boxes of his personal property, including a computer, clothes, and other personal items, including some of sentimental value.

Landlord Evicted Tenant Before the Lease Ended

With approximately one week left before the lease on the “old” apartment was due to expire, our client returned to the apartment complex to get the remainder of his items and finish moving out.  However, his key to the door of his apartment did not work.  When he went to the leasing office, a lease agent told him that his apartment “had already been evicted.”  Our client was shocked, upset and angry.

He then asked to speak with the property manager.  The property manager told him to make a list of all of his personal property that was in the apartment, and email it over.  Our client then did as directed.

Landlord Denies Liability for Illegal Eviction

However, after our client emailed to the property manager a list of some of his personal property that had been removed from the apartment, the property manager wrote back.  The property manager’s email cited a provision in the lease, and claimed that because of the fine print in the provision in the lease, the landlord was not liable for any damages and did not have to pay any compensation.

Our client grew even more upset and knew he was not being treated fairly, but did not know what to do about.  Many times, landlords lie to tenants about their legal rights, and claim that certain clauses in the lease make it impossible for their tenants to take legal action.  Fortunately, Maryland law does not allow landlords to hide behind illegal lease language to avoid accountability. 

He then searched Google for “wrongful eviction lawyers” and found Whitney, LLP’s illegal eviction lawyers.

Read more about Maryland illegal evictions at the People’s Law Library of Maryland.

Client hired Illegal Eviction Lawyers of Whitney, LLP after Illegal Eviction

After reviewing our client’s facts, we knew that the landlord had performed an illegal eviction.  From our experience bringing other claims against this landlord, we knew that in order to obtain a favorable result, we could not waste time sending a letter that would likely be ignored, and that we needed to file an illegal eviction lawsuit.

In our experience, gained from filing hundreds of lawsuits against predatory businesses and landlords in Maryland that act illegally, simply sending a letter on behalf of our client is almost always ineffective in normal circumstances. Filing a lawsuit is almost necessary to obtain maximum compensation. Because predatory business often get many complaints from their customers or tenants, they know that they can often get away with ignoring a letter, even from an attorney.  However, if a business ignores a lawsuit, they will end up with a default, which means they will be prevented from defending the case.

Illegal Eviction Lawsuit Filed

Whitney, LLP’s illegal eviction lawyers filed the illegal eviction lawsuit.  After filing the lawsuit, the landlord’s attorney contacted Whitney, LLP.  As usual, the landlord’s lawyer attempted a low-ball settlement, saying that the landlord “was surprised” suit was filed, because only a small amount of personal property had been discarded.

Because we are used to defense lawyers claiming that cases have little value, but later paying large amounts in settlement, we ignored that nonsense and proceeding with litigating the case.

It quickly became evident that the landlord wanted to resolve the matter, and it became a question of how much they were going to pay in an illegal eviction settlement

Compensation for Illegal Eviction Settlement

Our client had a relatively small amount of property that had been removed from his old apartment due to the illegal eviction, but the situation was extremely upsetting to him.  Through negotiations, we were able to recover compensation for him in the following areas, with a significant amount for the emotional distress, anxiety, shock and worry of going the illegal eviction:

• economic loss,
• property damage,
• property replacement cost,
• emotional distress, and
• compensation for the destruction and loss of items of irreplaceable sentimental value.

Of course, all cases are different, and past outcomes do not guarantee future results.

The value of an illegal eviction settlement can vary according to the amount of personal property discarded or destroyed, what items of sentimental value were lost, the venue (location) of where the case is filed, the overall harm suffered, and the living situation, circumstances and consequences that the tenant is faced with after the illegal eviction (such as being homeless, having to move into a hotel, moving in with family, or if they are able to quickly get another apartment) and impact on everyone who is affected (such as a single tenant, or a family with children).

$70,000 Illegal Eviction Settlement Paid

After negotiations over a few weeks, the case resolved.  The landlord agreed to pay a $70,000 illegal eviction settlement, which included payment for our client’s attorney’s fees in the case.

Here, it was necessary for our client to have found experienced illegal eviction attorneys to represent him.  If our client had believed the lying property manager who claimed that the landlord was not responsible for any of his damages, he would have received nothing.  Remember, landlords and property managers often do not care about their tenants, and will often do anything they can to avoid accountability, especially if it will cost the landlord money.

Daniel W. Whitney, Jr. and Daniel W. Whitney of Whitney, LLP

Illegal Eviction Lawyers – Whitney, LLP

If you were illegally evicted in Maryland, Whitney, LLP may be able to help you recover an illegal eviction settlement.  We have successfully represented clients across in Maryland in illegal eviction cases against some of the largest landlords in Maryland.

Tenants need to understand they can fight back against illegal evictions.  Call Whitney, LLP for a Free Illegal Eviction Case Evaluation.