ATTORNEY FEES ARE RECOVERABLE FOR EVICTIONS IN SANTA MONICA

The Appellate Division of the Superior Court issued a decision on January 11, 2001, that attorneys fees are recoverable in evictions based upon the Santa Monica Rent Control Charter Amendment, Section 1806. There are nine reasons that permit evictions under Section 1806, one of which is for purposes of owner occupancy. In the case of McDonald vs. Makay, there was a lot of publicity concerning the fact that the tenant, Mr. Makay, claimed to be a former prince of a European country and was being evicted. As a result of the notoriety of the particular defendant, newspapers ran articles concerning the eviction which was for owner occupancy purposes.

In addition to the Court order authorizing the eviction, the Court also authorized compensation to the landlord for his attorneys fees. The defendants appealed the award of the attorneys fees. Recently, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court affirmed the Trial Court award of the attorneys fees. The attorney for the tenant, Sonya Bekoff Molho, argued that the plain meaning of Section 1806 which authorizes attorneys fees is "legislative oversight." The Appellate Department thought otherwise and specifically stated that, "since the attorneys fees provision unambiguously awards attorneys fees to the prevailing party in an action ‘based upon Section 1806,’ the legislature is presumed to have meant what it said and the plain meaning of the language governs."

Therefore, it is now clear that in this eviction action filed by the property owner, he is legally entitled to claim attorneys fees as well. Of course, if the result was different and the property owner loses the eviction action, he or she may have to pay attorneys fees. It is a double-edge sword. The end result is that the relocation assistance that was originally offered to the tenant has now been used up by the Court judgment, the award of costs, and the award of attorneys fees. Had the "prince" been more astute, instead of losing all of his relocation assistance and contesting the eviction, he should simply have recognized the right of the property owner to occupy his own property and move upon receiving the Notice to do so. He is no longer a prince, but merely a tenant (without the rights of royalty that were superior to the rights of the property owner.) We are in the process of requesting Certification of this decision so that the award of attorneys fees can apply to all eviction actions based on the Santa Monica Rent Control law.