Page 109 of Impending Consent

"An oversight, right." I took the documents back. "And the calls on January thirteenth, fourteenth, fifteenth, and so on? All those are oversights too?"

"As I said, we receive a lot of calls."

"Yet you managed to document a noise complaint from another tenant on January thirteenth, a request to replace a dishwasher on January fourteenth, and a broken garbage disposal on January sixteenth. All addressed within forty-eight hours."

Landry's jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. "I know what you’re getting at but those were simple fixes."

"More simple than a leak that destroyed a tenant's home?" I arched my brow. "Mr. Landry, when were you first notified of the severity of the leak in Ms. Thompson's unit?"

"When my handyman visited in early February."

I nodded, pretending to accept his answer, then pulled out another document. "Your Honor, Exhibit G, text messages between Landry and his handyman, Ramon Diaz, dated January fifteenth."

Landry looked like he wanted to jump over the stand and strangle me when I displayed the messages on the courtroom monitor:

Diaz: Thompson unit in Westside Arms bad leak from upstairs bath. Need to open ceiling + fix pipe. Prob take 2 days min.

Landry: Hold off. That building too old, repairs $$$. Put bucket for now.

Diaz: Leak bad man. Will get worse.

Landry: Just patch drywall then. No major repairs.

The courtroom was silent as the communication remained displayed. Landry's attorney shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Mr. Landry, would you like to revise your previous statement about when you became aware of the severity of the leak?"

He glared at me. "Those messages lack context."

"What context would justify instructing your handyman to ignore a serious leak that was damaging a tenant's home? A home where a three-year-old child lives?"

"Objection!" his attorney called out. "Argumentative."

"Sustained," Judge Hernandez ruled. "Mrs. Hassan, rephrase."

I nodded respectfully. "Mr. Landry, Georgia landlord-tenant law requires that landlords maintain rental properties in a habitable condition. Would you agree that a collapsing, water-soaked ceiling and spreading mold constitutes an uninhabitable condition?"

"That's subjective.”

"Not according to the housing inspector who testified earlier. Let me ask you this, when Ms. Thompson requested to be released from her lease due to these conditions, why did you refuse?"

"She signed a twelve-month agreement. Businesses operate on contracts and she signed a damn contract."

"Contracts also include an implied warranty to be habitable, don't they?"

His attorney knew where this was going. "Objection, calls for a legal conclusion."

"Your Honor, Mr. Landry owns twenty seven rental properties. It's reasonable to expect him to be familiar with basic landlord-tenant law," I argued.

"I'll allow it," Judge Hernandez decided. "The witness may answer."

Landry cleared his throat. "Generally, yes."

"Generally," I repeated with a smile. "Mr. Landry, did you make any effort to relocate Ms. Thompson and her son while repairs were pending? Repairs you refused to do?"

"That's not my responsibility."

"Actually, Georgia law says it is when conditions render a property uninhabitable due to landlord negligence. One final question, how much would the proper repairs have cost if done immediately after the leak was reported?"

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