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| ‘I am homeless, and bankrupt’: A legal dispute leaves a former neighborhood commissioner desperate and a co-op divided | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| As James Patterson tells it, he did what was civically and morally right. | As James Patterson tells it, he did what was civically and morally right. |
| And then, he lost everything. | And then, he lost everything. |
| “They’ve taken my home,” he writes in a recent email. “I am homeless, and bankrupt.” | “They’ve taken my home,” he writes in a recent email. “I am homeless, and bankrupt.” |
| The emails from the 65-year-old retired Foreign Service employee and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner started arriving in my inbox several months ago, and they have lately grown more desperate. | The emails from the 65-year-old retired Foreign Service employee and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner started arriving in my inbox several months ago, and they have lately grown more desperate. |
| “It is so painful to tell my children,” reads one. “I talked with a minister but no one understands how this could happen in Washington DC.” | “It is so painful to tell my children,” reads one. “I talked with a minister but no one understands how this could happen in Washington DC.” |
| “I’ll never have another home!” reads another. | “I’ll never have another home!” reads another. |
| When I first spoke to Patterson in October, I was hesitant to share his story with you, and I told him so. He was the defendant in a messy lawsuit involving a Foggy Bottom cooperative. I explained to him that cases involving landlords and tenants can be difficult to write about because they are often filled with hard-to-prove accusations. I also expected, on the basis of the circumstances detailed in court filings, that the case would be resolved quickly and reasonably. | |
| She’s 83 and might get kicked out of her apartment. Among her violations: Taking too many cookies. | She’s 83 and might get kicked out of her apartment. Among her violations: Taking too many cookies. |
| Now, as the case nears an end, it has become clear that “quick” and “reasonable” aren’t words that can describe the conflict. | Now, as the case nears an end, it has become clear that “quick” and “reasonable” aren’t words that can describe the conflict. |
| Words that would work: drawn out, troubling, volatile, unsettling, expensive. | Words that would work: drawn out, troubling, volatile, unsettling, expensive. |
| Push aside the ugly accusations that have been slung from both sides and what remains beyond dispute is this: The lawsuit involved has been costly to both parties. | Push aside the ugly accusations that have been slung from both sides and what remains beyond dispute is this: The lawsuit involved has been costly to both parties. |
| The case — which started when Patterson asked whether a contractor had a permit to do building-wide HVAC work and refused to let the workers into his unit — saw Patterson go from living in a prime spot in the nation’s capital, within walking distance of shops and the Metro, to renting a friend’s basement in Southeast Washington. | The case — which started when Patterson asked whether a contractor had a permit to do building-wide HVAC work and refused to let the workers into his unit — saw Patterson go from living in a prime spot in the nation’s capital, within walking distance of shops and the Metro, to renting a friend’s basement in Southeast Washington. |
| It has also pushed residents at the Potomac Plaza Terraces, where he used to live, to start questioning one another over how the lawsuit was handled and whether it was worth the cost. | It has also pushed residents at the Potomac Plaza Terraces, where he used to live, to start questioning one another over how the lawsuit was handled and whether it was worth the cost. |
| The last item left for the court to decide is whether it will fall to residents or Patterson to pay the co-op’s legal bill: more than $150,000. | The last item left for the court to decide is whether it will fall to residents or Patterson to pay the co-op’s legal bill: more than $150,000. |
| A motion filed by attorneys with Jackson & Campbell, the law firm that handled the case for the co-op, asks the court to order Patterson to pay more than $144,000 in attorneys’ fees and about $7,400 in litigation costs. It also notes what will happen if he doesn’t pay: “Otherwise, the compliant and cooperative homeowners (Patterson’s neighbors) bear these fees and costs.” | A motion filed by attorneys with Jackson & Campbell, the law firm that handled the case for the co-op, asks the court to order Patterson to pay more than $144,000 in attorneys’ fees and about $7,400 in litigation costs. It also notes what will happen if he doesn’t pay: “Otherwise, the compliant and cooperative homeowners (Patterson’s neighbors) bear these fees and costs.” |
| Requests for comment sent to attorneys with Jackson & Campbell received no response. Requests for comment made to the co-op board also were unanswered. | Requests for comment sent to attorneys with Jackson & Campbell received no response. Requests for comment made to the co-op board also were unanswered. |
| Three dozen residents at the co-op have signed a petition that calls on the board to convene a special meeting to inform residents about all current lawsuits, provide a breakdown of legal fees and vote on a resolution that would direct management to “start mediation or otherwise settle all ongoing lawsuits.” | Three dozen residents at the co-op have signed a petition that calls on the board to convene a special meeting to inform residents about all current lawsuits, provide a breakdown of legal fees and vote on a resolution that would direct management to “start mediation or otherwise settle all ongoing lawsuits.” |
| The petition points to at least eight ongoing lawsuits. It also describes the co-op’s management as pursuing legal actions even after receiving offers to settle, thus forcing “members to incur sizable legal fees.” | The petition points to at least eight ongoing lawsuits. It also describes the co-op’s management as pursuing legal actions even after receiving offers to settle, thus forcing “members to incur sizable legal fees.” |
| “We can and should stop this now,” the petition reads. | “We can and should stop this now,” the petition reads. |
| Teymour Abdel Aziz, who wrote the petition and launched one of the lawsuits (which he says he tried to settle), says the legal actions taken against Patterson have left many residents “quite concerned.” | |
| He describes the board’s response to Patterson as “completely out of proportion” and says even residents who aren’t sympathetic to their former neighbor have been left asking, “Was there no other way?” | He describes the board’s response to Patterson as “completely out of proportion” and says even residents who aren’t sympathetic to their former neighbor have been left asking, “Was there no other way?” |
| “Even if you’re not an attorney, if you just look at the complaint itself and then the response, you will pretty quickly see how avoidable this was,” Abdel Aziz says. | “Even if you’re not an attorney, if you just look at the complaint itself and then the response, you will pretty quickly see how avoidable this was,” Abdel Aziz says. |
| Saeid Amini, who has a law office in the building and has been representing Patterson in that case as well as an eviction case, says he doesn’t think the other side was ever “interested in resolving” matters with Patterson. | |
| Amini filed a motion in September to dismiss the “frivolous eviction action,” arguing that Patterson had already moved out and turned in the keys. | |
| “Mr. Patterson, who is a retired diplomat and former employee of the State Department, has done nothing wrong,” it reads. “Nevertheless, continued harassment of Defendant left him no choice but to leave his unit. The property is currently listed for sale.” | “Mr. Patterson, who is a retired diplomat and former employee of the State Department, has done nothing wrong,” it reads. “Nevertheless, continued harassment of Defendant left him no choice but to leave his unit. The property is currently listed for sale.” |
| The motion argues that the lawsuit was a “continuation of tactics” that board leadership started taking against Patterson in December 2018 “because Defendant was the first to discover that a contractor was working in the building without any permits from the DCRA,” the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. | |
| As a former neighborhood commissioner, Patterson says he knew that the permit should have been posted outside the building before any work took place. When he didn’t see it, he says, it raised concerns for him about safety and insurance coverage. The contract, which court documents say was signed in December 2017, was for extensive work throughout the building, and Patterson says the permits were obtained only after he started asking questions. | As a former neighborhood commissioner, Patterson says he knew that the permit should have been posted outside the building before any work took place. When he didn’t see it, he says, it raised concerns for him about safety and insurance coverage. The contract, which court documents say was signed in December 2017, was for extensive work throughout the building, and Patterson says the permits were obtained only after he started asking questions. |
| The lawsuits against Patterson claim that he used profanity and racially derogatory remarks toward the workers (which he denies) and that he changed the locks on his door to keep them out (which he doesn’t deny). The recent motion asking for legal fees also blames him for the high cost. It describes him as making defamatory comments, contacting the employers of board members who work for the government and engaging in harassing communications with witnesses, resulting in two protective orders against him. | |
| I told you it was a messy case. | I told you it was a messy case. |
| I also told you “reasonable” wasn’t among the words that could describe it. | I also told you “reasonable” wasn’t among the words that could describe it. |
| “Nightmare” is the word Patterson chooses on a recent afternoon. He says that the stress of the disputekeeps him up at night and that the location of his new home makes it harder for him to get to his frequent medical appointments for a disability he acquired after suffering a spinal injury while working in the Foreign Service. | |
| And yet, he says, he would do it all again. | And yet, he says, he would do it all again. |
| “I had a civic obligation, a moral obligation to myself and the people in that building and a Christian obligation to take action,” he says. “You have to take action at some point in your life. You have to stand for something.” | “I had a civic obligation, a moral obligation to myself and the people in that building and a Christian obligation to take action,” he says. “You have to take action at some point in your life. You have to stand for something.” |
| He says this even as he stands in an uncertain position. | He says this even as he stands in an uncertain position. |
| He is waiting to find out two things: whether the co-op board will approve a buyer for his apartment and how much a judge will decide he owes for a fight that resulted in his losing a home he didn’t want to leave. | He is waiting to find out two things: whether the co-op board will approve a buyer for his apartment and how much a judge will decide he owes for a fight that resulted in his losing a home he didn’t want to leave. |
| Read more from Theresa Vargas: | Read more from Theresa Vargas: |
| ‘Yawhoo!’: The 83-year-old grandmother hit with a lease violation for taking too many cookies won’t have to move | ‘Yawhoo!’: The 83-year-old grandmother hit with a lease violation for taking too many cookies won’t have to move |
| Born from circumstance and built on loss, ‘grandfamilies’ get their own building in D.C. | Born from circumstance and built on loss, ‘grandfamilies’ get their own building in D.C. |
| An unlikely parrot love story may have resulted in a new species | An unlikely parrot love story may have resulted in a new species |