MD Judge Rules Slum Lord Jared Kushner's Rental Company Owes (mostly Black, Poor) Tenants over $4M

From [HERE] A Baltimore judge entered a $4.17 million judgment Tuesday in favor of a class of over tenants who were charged illegal fees by the property management wing of Kushner Cos., the development group co-owned by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law.

Partially granting the class’s motion for summary judgment, Circuit Judge Paul J. Cucuzzella found the firm, Westminster Management, was liable for violating Maryland’s cap on late rent payment fees and breaching the terms of its leases.

The parties are still slated to go to trial over a few relatively small issues, such as the exact amount of interest owed. But Tuesday’s ruling resolved the “vast majority” of the dispute after nearly nine years in court, and the plaintiffs’ legal team is looking forward to getting those funds back in the hands of the tenants, said Matt Hill, a managing attorney at the Public Justice Center and co-counsel for the class.

Spokespeople for Kushner Cos. did not immediately return a request for comment.

The real estate business’ ownership split between its founder, family patriarch and current United States Ambassador to France and Monaco Charles Kushner, his wife, and their four children. The eldest, Jared, is married to Ivanka Trump and has held various official and informal roles in the White House roles during her father’s presidencies, currently as a special peace envoy. He was the CEO of the family real estate business for about a decade.

The plaintiffs had accused Westminster Management of engaging in a scheme in which the firm charged tenants at 17 Maryland apartment complexes late fees in excess of the 5% limit set by state law. It designated those fees as “rent” in its leases and misapplied tenants’ payments to claim that rent was still due, obtain a faster eviction and pressure tenants to pay, the class said.

In a statement, lead plaintiff Tenae Smith called Tuesday’s ruling a “monumental step” in the lengthy span of litigation. The class plaintiffs are represented in court by attorneys from Baltimore law firm Brown Goldstein & Levy LLP; Timonium-based Santoni, Vocci & Ortega LLC; and the nonprofit Public Justice Center. The defendants have been represented by lawyers from national law firms including Baker Donelson and Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP. [MORE]