Stories from the Civil Justice Crisis

Safe at Home

Sonja  —  Rutherfordton, North Carolina
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Experiencing debilitating health issues and the death of her grandson, Sonja sought the support of her daughter and doctors. She was met with multiple threats of eviction from her property manager.

Sonja – Safe At Home
Sonja’s faith and devotion to her family are the first things you notice when you visit her home. The light-filled apartment where she has lived for seven years is decorated with photographs and mementos. Furniture is comfortably arranged to accommodate her walker, which she needs to get around at 69. Sonja loves her quiet life in the small North Carolina foothills town, where she raised her children.
Sonja – Safe At Home
In 2017, Sonja’s 23-year-old grandson died suddenly. The rules of her apartment complex limited overnight visitors to three nights per month, but she secured permission from the property manager for her daughter to live with her for six weeks following the young man’s death. After the six-week permitted stay, Sonja’s daughter continued to visit frequently because the visits were a comfort to them in their grief, and because Sonja needed the extra help around the house. Her severe knee problems were getting worse, and her daughter helped her with everyday tasks like cooking, cleaning and running errands. “My daughter had come here to help me because I had gotten to a point where I couldn’t walk with my left leg hardly at all,” Sonja said. “Her son had died just a few months before. She’s been with me through everything.”
Sonja – Safe At Home
After the six-week authorized stay was complete, Sonja was careful to never have her daughter stay overnight more than 3 nights during any 30-day period. Yet, in early 2018, the property manager wrongly accused Sonja of violating visitation rules, claiming her daughter was still living with her. Sonja vividly recalls one interaction between her daughter and property manager: “She looked straight at my daughter. It was six weeks after my grandson had died and [the property manager] told her that she ought to be over him by now. We were doing everything that we were supposed to do. My daughter has a home bought and paid for. She doesn’t have to live here. She came here to help me.”
Sonja – Safe at Home
Tenants with disabilities, like Sonja, have legal rights that – when enforced in a court of law – can protect them from eviction and enable them to get help with daily activities. Too often, though, courts don’t uphold these rights either because the tenant doesn’t see their problem as legal, and therefore doesn’t seek legal help, or because they simply do not have access to legal representation. The law was on Sonja’s side, but without a lawyer she was at real risk of eviction. With her daughter’s encouragement, Sonja did seek legal help to stay in her home and met with an attorney at Pisgah Legal Services. The attorney instantly saw legal grounds to fight the property manager’s eviction threat, and she took on the case. At first Sonja was skeptical of the idea of free legal help. But when she saw her civil legal aid lawyer, Nikki, in action, Sonja’s doubts fell away. She was relieved to have an advocate. “When I got there and met Nikki, I felt so comfortable and saw really how professional she was. I feel like I got the best help from any attorney anywhere in the surrounding area.”
Sonja – Safe at Home
Nikki knew that Sonja’s pain and mobility issues meant she had legal rights that would protect her from eviction, including the right to receive in-home help with daily activities. Because Sonja’s disability was obvious, and Sonja’s doctors had written notes to the property manager explaining that she needed live-in help, it was clear to Nikki that the property manager had known about Sonja’s needs and attempted to manipulate technicalities as grounds for denying her rights. Having a lawyer made the difference for Sonja, as it so often does in these cases. “All they wanted was something filled out in a particular way on a particular form with a particular answer. They were so caught up on this form that the doctor’s note didn’t help,” Nikki said. “It [took] me looking at the form and calling the attending physician as well as the surgeon or their staff to fill out the form the way that they wanted to see the form.”
Sonja – Safe At Home
Nikki submitted all the required documentation to the property manager. But still, the problem wasn’t solved. The documentation was met with silence. “From March until July her case was on hold,” Nikki explained. Then, they learned that the company had not been accepting Sonja’s rent payments, resulting in a past-due amount of $884 that Sonja didn’t know about and, without a source of income, didn’t have cash-on-hand to pay. She was hit with a demand for immediate payment. Once again, through no fault of her own, she was on the brink of eviction. Nikki jumped to action to advocate on Sonja’s behalf. With help from three different agencies, Sonja ended up having to pay only $84 out-of-pocket. Thanks to Nikki’s tenacity, Sonja was able to stay in her home.
Sonja – Safe At Home
Even still, Sonja is receiving warning letters threatening eviction. “It’s always something,” Sonja said. Most recently, she called Nikki after the property manager sent a threatening letter over a $28 outstanding balance. “I couldn’t believe it was starting all over again. I’m so sick, I can’t even hardly get where I need to get to do what I need to do sometimes. I can’t make it to the doctor to get those papers filled out.” This type of predatory behavior by property managers is all too common. Luckily, Sonja has Pisgah Legal Services. But in most civil cases, legal help is not guaranteed – even when the stakes are so high you might lose your home. And all too often, people lose their cases in court, not because they’ve done something wrong, but because they don’t have the legal information and help they need to advocate for their rights.
Sonja - Safe At Home
With Nikki’s help, Sonja was not only able to stay in her home, but she finally got approval for the live-in aide she needs. “I can’t think of a word that would describe the way I feel about Nikki and what all she’s done” Sonja said. “She’s adamant, like a cannonball to a pistol. Because when she gets in something, she digs in it and works on it. She don’t miss anything, and she was straightforward with me when I was in the wrong. We were able to work together very easily. I’ll always count on her as a blessing from the Lord.”
For her part, Nikki said “I made a point to make sure that she did get that feeling and knowledge that ‘we’re here to help you’ and we’re excited to be able to, if nothing else, listen and try to get down to the bottom of it and see if we can fix what’s going on here. She’s been a blessing, and it’s just been an honor and a privilege to be able to assist her.” Every year, millions of people like Sonja need legal help to avoid eviction, but our civil justice system is at a breaking point. There are known solutions that can ensure people have the resources and representation they need to navigate their civil legal problems and exercise their rights.
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The Civil Justice Connection

Tenants with disabilities have legal rights that can protect them from eviction and enable them to get help with daily activities – but only when enforced in a court of law. Too often, though, courts don’t uphold these rights either because the tenant doesn’t see their problem as legal, and therefore doesn’t seek legal help, or because they simply do not have access to legal representation. When Sonja’s knee surgery meant she needed live-in help, the law was on her side, but without a lawyer she was at real risk of eviction. All too often, people like Sonja lose their cases in court – not because they’ve done something wrong, but because they don’t have the legal information and help they need to advocate for their rights.

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