Action Apartment Ass'n v. City of Santa Monica, 41 Cal. 4th 1232 (2007)

Citation: Action Apartment Ass'n v. City of Santa Monica, 41 Cal. 4th 1232 (2007)
Parent Document: Action Apartment Ass'n v. City of Santa Monica, 41 Cal. 4th 1232 (2007)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2007-08-02
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5608052/action-apartment-assn-v-city-of... ↗

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*1244We recognize that the City enacted its Tenant Harassment ordinance for the legitimate government purpose of protecting the City’s residents from abuse by landlords. As described above, the City was motivated by the then recently enacted Costa-Hawkins, which provided an incentive for landlords improperly to cause tenants to vacate rental units, and evidence that, after the passage of Costa-Hawkins, instances of tenant harassment increased and rent-controlled units were vacated at higher rates. (Santa Monica Ord. No. 1859ccs, § 1, subds. (a) & (b).) However, that the City was motivated by a legitimate government purpose does not justify its enforcement of a law that discourages all landlords, including those motivated by honest intentions, from initiating unlawful detainer actions. The City’s enforcement of the provision of section 4.56.020(i)(l) that creates a civil and criminal cause of action based on the act of initiating litigation would cut against the litigation privilege’s “core policy” of protecting access to the courts. (Rubin v. Green (1993) 4 Cal.4th 1187, 1198 [17 Cal.Rptr.2d 828, 847 P.2d 1044] (Rubin).) Knowing that the City or any other person could bring an action under section 4.56.020(i)(l), even against a landlord who prevailed in an unlawful detainer action, would have a chilling effect on landlords pursuing evictions through the courts.

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