The Fair Housing Clinic received a call on January 12, 1998 from a Mr. Hadden. Mr. Hadden has lived in the same gold coast high rise for 21 years. He is a retired Chicago firefighter and a veteran of World War II. Mr. Hadden is also severely disabled. The management company had an order of eviction effective for January 16th. Mr. Hadden had no pace to go. He has no family and being disabled he had no way of moving his possessions he has acquired over the last 21 years in the building. He was despondent and felt helpless.
The case was assigned to attorney Damian Ortiz and student intern John Cosenza. After further interviewing Mr. Hadden, they learned that while Mr. Hadden was in the hospital for eight months his lease had expired and the management company did not notify him or give him an opportunity to renew, but placed him on a month to month lease. The reasoning is that a landlord can terminate a month to month lease with no cause. Mr. Hadden has always paid his rent on time.
John Cosenza immediately filed a Motion to Vacate the eviction notice in the Cook County Municipal Court and contacted the Sheriff's department to stop the eviction. He then proceeded to contact the management company through their attorney to begin negotiations. Student Intern Tim Deffet handled all court appearances. Cosenza notified the management company that Mr. Hadden was in the process of filing a federal fair housing complaint against them. A landlord cannot refuse to renew a lease or evict a tenant because of a disability under the fair housing act. Mr. Hadden was always allowed to renew his lease every year until he became disabled. Mr. Hadden no longer fit the profile of the younger tenants in the complex. All Mr. Hadden wanted was to be left alone and be allowed to live his life in the building he has called home since 1977.
During negotiations, the management company expresses concern about the amount of articles that Mr. Hadden has acquired over the years which were stacked all around the apartment. Damian Ortiz and John Cosenza went over to Mr. Hadden's apartment and assessed the situation. They made the determination with Mr. Hadden's permission that the articles needed to be organized and stored. John Cosenza negotiated a reasonable accommodation from the management company. The management would supply up to 10 storage units for free. Cosenza then contacted Jamie Knodel who is president of the John Marshall Fair Housing Council, a student organization, to organize some volunteers to help organize and store Mr. Hadden's articles.
When the unit was cleaned to the landlords satisfaction, the management company offered Mr. Hadden a new one year lease. There was also a provision added that they would contact the Clinic if any problems occur regarding Mr. Hadden's lease.
The Clinic was able to step into a situation where a client felt helpless and was able to avert an ugly situation of an elderly person being evicted with no where to go. Discrimination occurs in all forms, from disability to age to race to sexual orientation. The fair housing act and organizations like the John Marshall Fair Housing Legal Clinic are essential to stemming and some day eliminating discrimination in housing.
