Oaklands Deputy Attorney General Sued Over Lockout

Oaklands Deputy Attorney General Sued Over Lockout
By Lynda Carson 3/13/01

Oakland--Last  week, Oaklands Deputy Attorney General of Oaklands District Attorny's Office was Sued by a number of tenants/renters that allege that they were locked out of an 8 Unit Building owned by the Deputy Attorney General, Jerry Curtis. Some of the tenants/renters now are homeless.

       The tenants/renters who resided at 3474 Boston Ave in Oakland, allege that they upset Jerry Curtis"The Deputy Attorney General" when they allowed theirselves to be interviewed for a story by local Channel 4 after a wind storm blew off the roof of the property owned by Mr.Curtis on October 22,2000. Allegedly,they were advised by Jerry Curtis not to do anymore news stories, and in anger allegedly Jerry Curtis retaliated against the tenants after the story was aired, and he locked the tenants out of their homes in the building he owned on Boston Ave in Oakland.

         At this point before the lockout, the roof still was not repaired, rains ruined the belongings of many tenants including Kendra Wilson, and on October 25,2000, roofers showed up to replace the roof. The rain damaged items have not been replaced. On the day of October 26th,2000, the City Of Oakland cut off all power to the property, and Mr.Curtis notified his renters that he was offering to pay for a moving truck plus phone hookup if they chose to move. In Oaklands tight rental market, such assurances are meaningless. On October 29th,2000, Oaklands Fire Department, Blue Tagged the building, and Jerry Curtis then locked his tenants out of their homes without providing a new place to live, nor did he allow them to move back in when repairs were made. Mr.Curtis did not provide new shelter for his tenants, and it was up to the Red Cross at this point to provide Motel Vouchers to the victims for up to one week.
   
        The tenants now homeless, possessions ruined by the rains, recently learned that their old apartments were already rented out as of Febuary 1st,2000. These victims have asserted their rights and have responded with a Lawsuit against Jerry Curtis in responce to the lockout. The Deputy Attorney General "Jerry Curtis" is well connected in the City Of Oakland, and despite Oaklands 2 Year Moratorium on rent increases after evictions, allegedly raised the rents substantially on the new renters that replaced the ones that were locked out.

Oakland does not have a Just Cause Eviction Measure in place, and the horror stories of lawless landlords continue to give Mayor Jerry Brown a tarnished image.