Pasquotank woman appeals notice…
A sample of cases handled by Legal Aid of North Carolina
Note: This is an actual case submitted by an attorney from the Legal Aid of North Carolina office in Ahoskie, NC.
Following a vandalism incident at her housing complex, "Ms. B" had
received an eviction notice, and her friend, "Mr. J", had been banned
from the property. Believing that neither she nor Mr. J had done nothing
to merit these actions, Ms. B contacted the Legal Aid of North Carolina
office in Ahoskie. NC for legal advice.
Ms. B explained to the Legal Aid attorney that Mr. J was the father
of her youngest child and currently provided her with her only means
of transportation. She also said that she had five children, ranging
in ages from six months to 12-years old. The banning of Mr. J from her
housing complex would mean that she and her children would have to walk
completely off the complex grounds to meet Mr. J when they needed to
buy groceries, do laundry, and/or take the baby to the doctor. She noted
that her eviction notice and Mr. J’s receipt of the letter from the
property manager (stating that Mr. J was banned from the property forever)
had been received two days after an incident at the complex while Mr.
J was dropping off a friend.
Apparently, Mr. J had had some words with several men while playing
basketball at the city park, which is located three miles from the housing
complex. After the altercation, Mr. J had gone to the housing complex
to drop off a friend, who lived next door to Ms. B. Unbeknownst to Mr.
J or Ms. B, the men with whom he had had the altercation in the park
had followed him to the housing complex, had shot several times into
Mr. J’s car – riddling it with bullet holes – and had been arrested
and charged with vandalism.
The Legal Aid attorney advised Ms. B to file a grievance with the local
housing authority.
At the grievance hearing, it was determined that the housing complex
site manager had not considered that Mr. J had done nothing and had
been at the housing complex to drop off another resident. The Legal
Aid attorney argued that Ms. B should not be evicted for the actions
of the men against Mr. J nor should Mr. J be banned from the housing
complex grounds.
Ms. B won her case at the grievance procedure and was not served with
a Summary Ejection notice (was not evicted from her apartment). Also,
Mr. J’s name was removed from the housing complex’s "ban list".
"Without legal representation, Ms. B and her five children would most
likely have been evicted from their federally subsidized residence,"
noted the Legal Aid attorney. "Also, her friend can now go back onto
the housing complex grounds to help her and her children with their
transportation needs. Fortunately, Legal Aid was available to ensure
that Ms. B, her children, and her friend did not suffer due to the inappropriate
actions of others."
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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
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order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
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