Vytas Juskys and his small business manage apartment buildings and are committed to constantly upgrading and making repairs to the homes of the tenants. He thought that improving their apartments and the common areas would help his residents love where they lived; he never expected that one of them would thank him with a lawsuit.
Juskys was in the process of improving an apartment complex he had just acquired when he learned he was being sued. He had been making a variety of repairs to the building and the surrounding facilities, and he was posting regular repair notices on the tenants’ doors, as is required by law.
But one tenant claimed that these notices caused her emotional distress, and she sued Juskys for $500,000. The irony, Juskys says, is that the plaintiff had personally been requesting improvements and then sued him for notifying her that he was planning to make them.
“There’s no way to avoid it,” Juskys says. “At some point, if you’re into real estate, you’re going to get sued. We’re easy prey.” The lawsuit not only took away from Juskys’ ability to focus on his tenants and the properties he manages, it also prevented him from initiating new projects, hiring extra employees and creating jobs.
On the day of the trial, Juskys’ insurance company decided to settle the case, and he was required to pay thousands of dollars out of his own pocket.
Juskys now understands why businesses settle even the most frivolous of lawsuits. Small businesses like his can’t win, he says. Even if he had gone to trial and the jury had ruled in his favor, his only winnings would have been a legal bill, higher insurance rates, and lost time.
“You try to do everything right,” Juskys says, “and it’s just not good enough.”
18 Comments
Scott H. said on December 9, 2009 at 8:20 pm #
Will he be sued the next time for not giving notice? The lease should have a section for how and where to serve notices and that contracted agreement would be the official document to cite.
I think I should start a company that assembles the names of people who have been plaintiffs in frivolous & abusive cases for sale to property owners when they prescreen possible tenants. The list would assign a risk rating and the property owner would be warned of that liability risk and take necessary and proper action to protect their investments.
TrueLiberal said on December 14, 2009 at 2:57 pm #
These people who file phony lawsuits should be put in jail.
Gayle Miller said on December 17, 2009 at 6:19 pm #
Tort reform is so overdue – particularly in California where the law is totally weighted in favor of the tenants. In addition, there are contentious and litigious people all over the country who pride themselves on suing everyone they can for real or imagined slights. Who can forget the dimbulb female who got coffee at McDonalds and then sued because it was hot! Give me a break! That should have been the tipping point but the trial lawyers’ lobby is too powerful.
Orm said on December 17, 2009 at 9:28 pm #
Smack across the face and an eviction notice is what I would personally recommend.
Johnny said on December 19, 2009 at 4:38 am #
This story sounds a little one sided to me. You loose all credibility when you do not present the facts in a non-biased manner.
le b said on December 20, 2009 at 10:17 am #
It is my opinion that people are looking for a quick dollar. Instead of stealing from the ones that are trying to make a living. these indiviuals need to get a job. Sure there is a shortage in jobs,but if they look hard enough they will get one. Leave honest hard working people that are trying to support their families ALONE. REMEMBER WHAT GORES AROUND COMES AROUND!!!!!!!! You may not like it when you get your turn to be treated as you treat others.
DanaDee said on December 24, 2009 at 10:41 am #
Johnny, I am primarily a defense attorney who has done a lot of probono or extremely discounted work because some of these lawsuits can utterly be this ridiculous. May you never experience a lawsuit against you to realize just how one-sided a story can be–because I’m here to tell you that stories like these are not necessarily one-sided.
Floyd DaBarber said on December 25, 2009 at 9:54 am #
Pfft.. tort reform will never happen. In the $2 trillion dollar bloat pig bill that just passed yesterday for healthcare reform, all lawsuit and tort reform has been stripped out. It is hopeless.
Antonio said on December 25, 2009 at 7:12 pm #
Toughen up a little. Emotional damages are just a part of life. Does anyone have any consideration for other people these days?
Tom O'May said on December 26, 2009 at 1:02 pm #
I earned a law degree in 1976 while working full time in the construction industry in So Cal. By the time I graduated I was so disgusted by the actual workings of the legal profession that I decided I preferred the company of
construction people than lawyers. I was
a GC in Cal and now here in Florida, and
have a small business. It’s absolutely disgusting that tort reform hasn’t been
accomplished, especially now with the
health care issues. States need to use
the 10th amendment rights to accomplish this if the fed won’t.
Rick Berard said on December 27, 2009 at 12:18 pm #
The sitting judge should ban frilous or meaniless lawsuits or be penalizted themselves. The losers or plaintiff’s should be made to pay for the court or legal fee’s of the winner or defendant!
maura k said on December 30, 2009 at 4:37 pm #
Johnny: did you even READ the story?
gary said on January 12, 2010 at 11:43 am #
I have been sued for nothing also,can’t we sue the attorney for filing a frivolous lawsuit.? Has anyone done that yet? Please let me know if so. I have a tenant that I evicted for not paying five months of rent and his attorney is trying to extort money from me by filing a obvious fraudelent claim . He is milking my tenant with hopes of winning more from me and the result will be my attorney will make money and his attorney will make money and thats it, like always.I would like to file a suit against his lawyer for encouraging him when the truth is obvious. Some lawyers most are simply retainer chasers in my opinion, they tell you what you want to hear and make you feel they can save you. Then they ask for a retainer, and when they have a pretrial meeting they tell you to settle for less or it will cost you more by fighting it .If you settle you never get any of the retainer back. Most attorneys avoid going to trial, so don’t think you will ever win what you initially had in mind. I strongly believe that judges should impose high penalties on lawyers that mastered the system of extortion using the courts.
B J said on January 14, 2010 at 10:17 am #
There is obviously a lot more to this than you are showing. A judge must have thought that there was some merit to her claim, or the judge wouldn’t have let it go forward. Perhaps your desire for tort reform should be directed at the judges. There are a lot of self serving people and organizations out there, but it is imperative that we have a balance, which is where the judges should come in.
Chayce said on January 15, 2010 at 2:16 pm #
How does a notice cause “emotional disstress”
Paul said on January 24, 2010 at 6:52 pm #
When you need to make repairs and improvements on your properties, you either need to wait until something breaks and you are requested to make the repairs, or you need to declare the apartment/property “no longer rentable”, move the tenant out, and then make all your repairs while it is vacant…not the most efficient or profitable way, but you will avoid the weenie-whiners like Juskys had to deal with.
Cyrus said on May 4, 2010 at 1:21 pm #
If it was so frivolous why did the insurance company pay so much money on the day of trial
Ben said on May 24, 2010 at 12:57 am #
maybe I should just sue my ex-girlfriend for emotional damages because she dumped me. wow, this legal system needs to be fixed.