One local renter has long legal history
CITYWIDE Nearly everyone with roommates has had their own share of stories of roommate struggles, whether it be squabbles over dirty dishes or disagreements about the decor of the home.
Sharing spaces and appliances and living in close quarters can occasionally lead to arguments. In some cases, it can also push former roommates to face each other in court.
“Very often, they become emotional issues,” said Andrew Zanger, a Santa Monica-based tenant attorney who has represented hundreds of clients — including roommates — in court over housing disagreements.
It’s not uncommon nowadays for these roommate disagreements to end up in court, Zanger said, and such has been the case for one former Westside renter who has been called to court on much more than one occasion.
Since 1992, at least 22 unlawful detainers — court approved evictions for issues such as non-payment of rent — have been filed against 55-year-old Kathleen Patton, according to a Los Angeles Superior Court database listing civil cases, including unlawful detainers.
Patton declined to disclose the city of her current residence.
On the Internet are several Web sites with indices chronicling lawsuits and unlawful detainers that have been filed against Patton since 1992. The creator of the site is unknown, but is believed to be either Kathy Pratt, a former roommate who filed an unlawful detainer against Patton, or an anonymous person who goes by the alias “K,” who has been in contact with several of Patton’s former roommates, said Richard Arp, who filed a small claims suit against Patton in 2004.
Many of the small claims and unlawful detainer cases — listed on www.tbns.net/kathleenpatton/index.html — allege that Patton failed to either pay or refund rent and security deposits. The site lists a total of 41 civil cases, including 25 unlawful detainer and 16 small claims. Several of the unlawful detainers could not be confirmed through the Los Angeles Superior Court. Patton said she has filed a cease and desist order against Pratt in the past.
“It’s not unusual for people to get sued a number of times during the course of their life whether it’s an auto accident or other kinds of things,” said John Gerard, an attorney practicing civil law in Los Angeles. “41 is extraordinary.”
MOVING IN AND THEN OUT OF NORTH HOLLYWOOD One of the most recent unlawful detainers was ruled on Feb. 9 in favor of Evelyn Diez, a single mother who posted a notice on Craigslist.org for a two-week sublet at her apartment in North Hollywood for $200 a week, according to Pratt, a Santa Monica paralegal who assisted Diez in her unlawful detainer case.
The ruling was a default judgement because Patton did not appear in court for the hearing, Pratt said.
Patton moved into the North Hollywood apartment in November of 2006, allegedly paying Diez $300 in cash for one week’s rent and a $100 security deposit. She later provided a $200 check that allegedly bounced and then another $100 in cash to help cover the bounced check, Pratt said in an e-mail to the Daily Press.
The payments then stopped flowing for December’s rent and Patton allegedly refused to move out, causing Diez to serve her several written notices to move out, Pratt added.
Claiming she was being harassed by Patton, Diez and her daughter moved out of the apartment, feeling it was not a safe environment, Pratt said. Threatening e-mails then followed after Diez discontinued the cable Internet connection and telephone services in December, she added. In what was supposed to be a two-week sublet, Patton allegedly notified Diez that she would not leave the apartment until January.
The unlawful detainer was filed on Jan. 16 in the Van Nuys Courthouse. In an e-mail dated April 23 to the Daily Press, Patton said that Diez provided her a “non-existent” address on the three-day notice and that she attempted to locate Diez to give her rent, though there was no address. She also alleged that Diez turned off the gas in the apartment during a “cold spell” in January and that the city of Los Angeles’ housing department had filed a complaint against her.
“This is backed up by the Sheriff’s office who has tried to serve papers on her for a small claims case I have filed against her,” Patton said in the e-mail. “Ms. [Diez] has perjured herself in court and I intend on pursuing this matter.”
DISCONNECTED Pratt has assisted several of Patton’s former roommates in seeking legal action, including Diez and Kelly Kong, who charge that Patton’s rent checks bounced. The allegations were dismissed less than a month after being filed.
Although Pratt has helped other claimants, she herself had previously been involved in litigation against Patton. It was on March 4, 2006 when Pratt and Patton first came to meet.
Pratt had placed an ad on Craigslist seeking a temporary roommate to stay for a short period of time in her Westside home.
In the more than three months Patton stayed with Pratt and Barbora Kalinova, disputes arose over payment of rent, phone bills and an allegedly unauthorized installation of cable Internet service in the home, Pratt said. Upon moving in, Patton allegedly told her new roommates that she needed a place to stay for a few days while escrow closed on her townhouse in Marina del Rey.
“She totally took advantage of using the phone constantly and when the first bill came, I freaked out,” Pratt said.“She was trying to haggle and bargain with me on how much to pay and she gave me $8 when she owed me $47.”
Both Kalinova and Pratt informed Patton that she needed to move out by April 9, saying that Kalinova’s parents were coming to visit from Prague. The night before the Kalinova’s arrived, Patton allegedly started bargaining with the two women. Patton allegedly said she would leave by 3 p.m. on Easter Sunday and could offer $60 to cover half the phone bill and half the rent.
An unlawful detainer was filed on May 2. Pratt and Patton got off on the right foot until “all hell broke loose” when Patton asked for a few days extra to vacate the home after Pratt and Kalinova had asked her to leave by April 9, Patton said.
“They broke into my room [as well as] disconnected my Comcast cable,” Patton alleged during a phone interview. “The Comcast people came repeatedly and gave them warning that this was illegal.”
“They called people I know and threatened me,” she added.
Several hand-written notes from Patton to Pratt — one dated April 27, 2006 and the other on May 2, 2006 — shows that Patton had attempted to alleviate the feelings of ill will that were brewing among the group of roommates.
“I have one other idea on a way to settle this matter,” Patton states in the May 2 letter. “I would like to present this to you this afternoon around noon.”
A SHORT STAY A few years before, Arp rented a room from Patton in Marina del Rey, paying the first and last month’s rent and security deposit prior to moving in, he said.
Three days later, he moved out. “I’m a landlord myself and kind of know how the laws work and I really expected her to pay me back,” he said. “When I moved into her place, I had given her a few references and three days after I moved in, she called all references and convinced them to persuade me to leave.”
“At first I said yes I’ll leave and give me my money back and she refused and she said something like ‘Rich, this is not a good time to be talking about money, let’s just deal with that later.”
Arp filed a small claims suit against Patton on May 2004, alleging she refused to pay rent and a security deposit after a four-day occupancy. The court later ruled in his favor on an approximately $4,000 judgment that has yet to be paid, Arp added.
But Patton claims a totally different story. When she initially published an ad for a roommate, she was clear that she did not want someone who smoked or drank alcohol, she said.
“That was important for me,” she said. “I made a mistake in that I did not interview and meet him [Arp] in person.”
On the night Arp was supposed to move in, Patton said she received a call from a person, laughing and joking on the phone, saying that Arp was “delayed.” He arrived at the home the next morning, and “he stank of alcohol,” she said.
“It wasn’t just someone who drank wine, he was a raging alcoholic,” she said, but did not offer proof to support her allegation.
In Patton’s account of the events, Arp told her that he was stressed from moving and would never drink again. She handed him an agreement saying that he would forfeit his deposit if he had ever drank again.
“Of course by 8 p.m. that evening, he had walked down to the local bar and was at it again,” she said. “He was out of control.”
On April 16, Patton forwarded an e-mail to the Daily Press, an e-mail showing correspondence between her and a Janet MacKenzie, whom Arp said was his ex-girl-friend. The e-mail indicates that MacKenzie was acting as a mediator between both parties. MacKenzie also mentioned in the text of the message that Arp was seeking treatment for his “alcohol problem.”
But in an e-mail to the Daily Press on April 27, MacKenzie said, “Rich is not an alcoholic.”
BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DO Both Arp and Pratt said they found out about Patton’s legal history when they conducted a search for her on the Internet. They both admitted that they did not look into Patton’s background before deciding to live with her.
Despite the roommate experiences that have not worked out, Patton said she has had some “positive roommate situations,” including her current living arrangement.
“I do have a roommate that I’m very happy with,” she said.
Roommate splits are akin to divorces, Zanger said.
“You come together to rent space and at some point in time, it’s not working out any-more and dispute arises between the two parties,” he said. “Dispute usually involves the same type of problem... of who is obligated to pay which bill and they end up suing each other in small claims court.”
The cardinal rule for roommates who are moving in together should be to sign an agreement and put everything in writing, he said. Know which roommate is responsible for which bill.
“Like any relationship, there is a business side to it that you have to recognize and take care of,” he added.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 28, 2007. Read the original PDF.