Landlord Held Liable for Tolerating Gangs

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered activist landlord Eric Crumpton to pay $2,000 to four of 10 neighbors who sued him for failing to keep gang members from overrunning a building he owns in Hollywood.

In a small claims court appeal trial that ended Thursday, Judge Kathryn Doi Todd found Crumpton liable for refusing to ward off gang members who gathered at his apartment building in the 1600 block of Winona Boulevard, one block west of Normandie Ave.

Crumpton’s case was California’s first nuisance and negligence complaint filed against a landlord who was expected to rid his property of a gang problem. In the small claims court decision against Crumpton, 10 neighbors were awarded $2,000 each. However, Doi Todd ruled that six of the original plaintiffs lived far enough away from Crumpton’s building so that they were not adversely affected.