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Landlord Lawsuit Puts Gospel into Real-Life Context
OAKLAND, CA (April 26, 2001) - New Hope Covenant Church pastor Dan Schmitz has had plenty to do in helping grow a church of 40 people in Oakland during the past three years.
As a tenant in a run-down apartment complex near the church, however, he felt he could do even more. He and fellow tenant Russell Jeung led a group of 197 plaintiffs in a successful lawsuit against the landlord of the 56-unit building, resulting in a settlement totaling nearly $1 million.
"Contextualizing the gospel, I think, means taking care of people's physical needs, seeing the love of Jesus in very practical terms," said Schmitz, who serves as co-pastor with Bill Squires. "That's really the focus of our ministry - it's being obedient, expecting God to work in our midst without presupposing what that looks like."
The group won its lawsuit in October 2000. The first payments arrived in March and the funds will help refurbish the facility. The 45 families involved in the suit will receive at least $6,000
each - some will receive more - and some unpaid rent has also been waived, according to Schmitz.
The complex has been purchased by a non-profit group called Affordable Housing Associates and will combine resources with the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation. The building will be gutted and improvements will be made during the next two years. The building will be converted to a 30-unit complex, including mostly two-bedroom units. A community center and a
courtyard play area for children will also be added.
Some of the units are currently unfit for use - the city of Oakland condemned the building. Attorney Jay Koslofsky fought to keep current tenants in their place - a total of 27 units - while renovation begins. Koslofsky praised Schmitz, Jeung and the others for battling nearly three
years to gain a settlement. He said it was the best representation of tenants he had seen in 20 years of handling similar cases.
"It's really rare," Koslofsky said in local newspaper reports. "Usually, if there's a cash settlement, the tenants still have to leave because the building is sold. Only once before have I had a case where the tenants stayed, and the settlement wasn't as large. It would have been easy to give up and go someplace else. Instead, they stuck with it and fought hard and will end up living in greatly improved conditions."
"The lawyer couldn't believe it," Schmitz said of the solid backing from tenants. "He thought we would have a couple of plaintiffs and it would be an average size case, but it's the biggest case he's ever had. We had a lot of tenant organizing. We had English classes for people, we had done
youth things for people, and I had managed this place (just prior to the lawsuit) to see if we could work with management to resolve issues."
Schmitz, 38, has lived in Oakland 10 years and had originally hoped to become a missionary. He decided to stay near his hometown of Burlingame and find a locale where he could engage in cross-cultural ministry. He found it in Oakland's San Antonio District in the Oak Park Apartments, inhabited primarily by Cambodian and Latino immigrants.
For a time, Schmitz hoped to aid the improvement of the complex by helping the owner with repairs. But little money was being put into the improvements and the raw sewage floods, leaky roofs, mold and vermin infestations were getting out of control, according to Schmitz. "I could see what a complete farce it was," Schmitz said of the lack of effort by the owner to change living conditions.
Jeung, a professor at a local community college, had worked as an aide for an Oakland City Council member. He and Schmitz helped mobilize a significant group of tenants to sue the landlord in May 1998, gaining the support of City Council President Ignacio De La Fuente. The City of Oakland began pressuring the building's owner to clean up the complex, levying $1,000-a-day fines. After the owner filed for bankruptcy, the process stalled until final negotiations began last fall.
"For me, where this really becomes concrete is when I see kids out in the courtyard playing," said Schmitz. "The landlord had tried to place a lot of limits on people. He had placed a low rate of rent, but he had many controls. Now I see where the new owners really want to work with the
tenants. It becomes a quality of life thing in the day-to-day interactions."
Resident Elle Chanthachareune will use the settlement money to establish a college fund for her three children. "Whatever happens to me, at least they will have money to go on."
"We are glad," said resident Sophy Sun. "We will be here for a long time. It is a safe place for my kids."
For more information on New Hope Covenant Church and its community involvement efforts, contact Schmitz by telephone at 510-533-2077 or by email at dschmitzy@aol.com.
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