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DRAFT FOR ATTORNEY REVIEW — NOT FINAL

Lena Robinson v. Diamond Housing Corporation, 463 F.2d 853 (1972)

Citation
Lena Robinson v. Diamond Housing Corporation, 463 F.2d 853 (1972)
Parent Document
Lena Robinson v. Diamond Housing Corporation, 463 F.2d 853 (1972)
Jurisdiction
DC (municipal)
Effective Date
1972-04-03

Other Sections in This Document (189)

Full Text

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We have carefully examined each of these arguments and have concluded that none of them sufficiently distinguishes this case from Edwards or precludes application of the District of Columbia law against retaliatory evictions. If we resolve all reasonable doubts in favor of appellant — as we must when reviewing a summary judgment,12 see, e. *862g., United States v. Diebold, Inc., 369 U.S. 654, 82 S.Ct. 993, 8 L.Ed.2d 176 (1962); United States v. Farmers Mutual Ins. Ass’n of Kiron, Iowa, 8 Cir., 288 F.2d 560, 562 (1961) — it becomes plain that a jury might find Diamond Housing to be using the eviction machinery to punish Mrs. Robinson for exercising her legal rights. Edwards squarely holds that the state’s judicial processes may not be so used, and nothing which has transpired since Edwards was decided has caused us to change our view. Indeed, if anything, the creation by the District of Columbia City Council of new private remedies for code violations since Edwards reinforces our belief in the necessity for a broad retaliatory eviction defense. If the housing code were effectuated solely by a system of comprehensive public enforcement, the situation might perhaps be different. But by legislating a system of private remedies conforming to the Javins13 and Southall Realty14 decisions, the City Council has made plain that the code is to be enforced in large part through the actions of private tenants. Having put at least some of its eggs in the private enforcement basket,15 the legislature should not at the same time be taken as having authorized use of legal processes by those who seek to frustrate private enforcement. The right to a decent home is far too vital for us to assume that government has taken away with one hand what it purports to grant with the other. A. The Narrow Reading of Edwards.