"The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles routinely sues the city - and wins. In the last two months, the nonprofit has notched victories in three lawsuits over the city's handling of the homelessness crisis. Legal Aid also defends tenants at risk of eviction as part of the city and Los Angeles County's Stay Housed L.A. program."
"City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto sent a confidential memo to council offices recommending that council members "reconsider the award of such a large contract to a frequent litigant against the city," according to a portion of the memo obtained by The Times."
""[Legal Aid's] mission includes improving the lives of our client communities through systemic change, which sometimes means filing litigation against government entities engaging in illegal conduct," Barbara Schultz, director of housing justice for Legal Aid, said in an interview. Schultz said that Legal Aid's litigation and eviction work "are entirely separate.""
The Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles has won three recent lawsuits against the city regarding its homelessness crisis response. The organization also represents tenants at risk of eviction through the Stay Housed L.A. program. The City Council scheduled a vote on a $177-million contract to continue Legal Aid's tenant representation services for three years. However, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto sent a confidential memo the night before the vote recommending council members reconsider awarding such a large contract to a frequent litigant against the city. The council subsequently delayed the vote. Legal Aid's leadership stated that litigation and eviction defense work are entirely separate functions, with litigation serving their mission of systemic change through legal action against illegal government conduct.
#legal-aid-foundation #tenant-eviction-defense #government-litigation #homelessness-crisis #city-contract
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