W. Hollywood Landlord Sued Over Eviction Plan

A group of mostly elderly West Hollywood tenants have sued their landlord for $500,000, accusing him of illegally attempting to evict them and offering substantially less in relocation funds than they are entitled to under the law.

Lawyers for tenants at 848 N. Kings Road have asked for a preliminary injunction preventing landlord Albert Korngute from evicting his tenants. They asked for an unspecified amount of money for emotional distress as well as a total of $500,000 in punitive damages.

One of the tenant attorneys, Ronald Rouda, said Korngute, who received permission to convert his building to condominiums in 1983 when West Hollywood was governed by the county, cannot legally evict his tenants. Only purchasers of condominiums who intend to live in their units, which Korngute has only recently put on the market, may evict their tenants, he said.

Jan. 1 Eviction Date

Although Korngute informed his tenants this summer that their apartments would be on the market, he is now attempting to evict them by Jan. 1 under the terms of the Ellis Act. The new state law allows landlords to evict their tenants only for purposes of going out of business.

In addition, Korngute has offered his tenants no more than $3,000 each in relocation benefits. Rouda said Korngute’s offer is in some cases as much as $10,000 less than his clients are entitled to under the terms of Korngute’s conversion agreement and a recently amended West Hollywood ordinance.

Korngute, who said he has not seen his tenants’ suit, said his actions are not illegal.

“I am going out of business under Ellis,” he said.

According to Rouda, Korngute, in his 1983 conversion agreement, agreed to pay his tenants relocation benefits equal to their monthly rent multiplied by the number of years they have lived there.

Building Has 38 Units

Many long-term tenants, some of whom have lived in their apartments since the 38-unit, three-story structure was built 20 years ago, now pay from about $600 to nearly $1,000 a month rent and would be entitled to more than $10,000 in relocation benefits.

But according to Korngute, if he succeeds in evicting his tenants under terms of the Ellis Act, he will be required to pay them no more than $3,000 for each apartment. West Hollywood’s relocation fee ordinance adopted during the summer calls for a maximum relocation fee of $3,000.

Rouda and the tenants claim that Korngute must pay the higher fee because he is not really going out of business but merely converting his building to condominiums. In addition, an emergency amendment to the relocation fee ordinance adopted by the City Council on Nov. 17 incorporates the Kings Road tenants’ relocation fee formula into the West Hollywood ordinance.

‘Playing Games’

Korngute believes the amended ordinance does not apply to him. “I gave notice on the 28th of October,” he said. “The council amended the ordinance so that all the people are entitled to the higher relocation fee, but they said nothing about making it retroactive.”

Stan Barnett, a 20-year tenant and head of the building’s tenant committee, said Korngute “is playing games with these people. A wrong is being committed, and I am going to fight him to the end.

“I am heartbroken at what is happening to these people,” the 61-year-old Barnett said. “About 80% of these people are seniors and many of them are ill. What these people want is their proper relocation fee and a proper amount of time to settle.”

Rouda said he is scheduled to go to court Dec. 22 to obtain an injunction preventing Korngute from evicting his tenants.