Mom's Mustang melee
Dispute over parked car may lead to the streets for a mother of eight
By André Coleman 07/23/2009
Where does a family of 10 go after it's been kicked out of its home of 20 years?
"If I get evicted," said Margarita Holloman, an unemployed mother of eight kids ranging in age from 1 to 20, of her four-bedroom, two-story, federally subsidized apartment on Mayflower Avenue in Monrovia, "we would have to go from couches to cars and sleep wherever we can. That's all I can do. I don't have any place to go."
In May, Holloman was due in court to face an unlawful detainer — the last of several such eviction notices served on her over the past few years by managers of the Mayflower Apartments — for allegedly being a nuisance. But the 39-year-old, who was pregnant at the time, suffered a miscarriage that forced her to stay in the hospital for five days and miss that hearing before a judge, who ultimately ruled against her.
The only thing now keeping a roof over the heads of Holloman, her children and her boyfriend is action by Pasadena attorney Philip Koebel, who was denied a rehearing on Holloman's behalf, then helped Holloman file for bankruptcy protection, which brought a temporary halt to the eviction proceedings. A federal judge will decide on Aug. 3 if Holloman and her family can stay in the apartment or must leave.
"They have been trying for a long time to get her out," said Koebel. "Yet, she defeated all the unlawful detainers. What has astonished me is they haven't offered an alternative to her. We have offered to settle the case in many different ways."
Holloman insists that she has always paid her portion of rent — the $125 not covered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development — on time. She also says there have been no complaints filed against her by other tenants. But landlord Samuel Yen, Holloman said, has unfairly deemed her a nuisance.
Yen referred all comment to his supervisor, Evan Escobar, who called Holloman's allegations "very untrue" before referring questions to attorney Richard Daggenhurst, who also refused to comment.
"She was in the hospital and still they are trying to put us out," said Holloman's boyfriend, Quaran Lauderdale, who also lives in the apartment and is the father of three of Holloman's children. "It's like these people don't have a heart."
If the bankruptcy judge rules against her, it's unclear what might happen to Holloman's kids. Her two oldest boys — Kenneth, 20, and Kendall, 19, who were both formerly standout athletes at Monrovia High School — may be forced to skip college in order to help their mother. Holloman also has children ages 1, 3, 5, 9, 7 and 11 years old.
Holloman's latest problems began after her son Kenneth parked his beat-up 2000 Ford Mustang in his mother's parking space before heading off to Utah Valley College, where he is majoring in criminal justice. The car had bald tires, no bumpers and looked like it had been abandoned.
Holloman said she spent the next several weeks moving the vehicle to several different parking spaces in order to demonstrate that the vehicle ran and could be moved. Unfortunately, that didn't help. Police were called and the vehicle was towed. This enraged Holloman, who confronted Yen and called him several derogatory terms, including "fat' and a "pervert."
"It was an ugly car, but it was registered and it ran, but he had it towed anyway," Holloman said of Yen. "I called him some names, but I never threatened him."
Several days later, Holloman received a notice evicting her for breach of her lease, alleging she was a nuisance. Koebel requested a mediation hearing by phone, but the two sides were unable to come to an agreement. At the end of that call, Koebel requested formal mediation, but Daggenhurst declined.
Koebel said he had expected the opposing attorney to serve him with any papers pertaining to Holloman, but that never happened. Instead, Daggenhurst had Holloman served with an eviction notice at her home. Several days later, Holloman suffered a miscarriage. She did not speak to Koebel about the unlawful detainer and missed the deadline to file a motion to stop the eviction.
Under California law, a landlord can serve a tenant notice to vacate within 30 days. "The landlord does not have to provide any reason for the eviction, unless a rent control ordinance requires just cause," Koebel explained. "If the tenant does not leave within 30 days of the notice, the landlord can file a suit for the eviction."
According to Holloman, she never had a problem at the apartments until Yen took over as landlord in 2000. After Lauderdale moved in four years later, Yen allegedly tried to have Holloman evicted for having an unauthorized occupant, but a judge ruled against him.
A short time later, Yen allegedly began taking pictures of family members when they were in the courtyard. The police were also called on Holloman's sons Kenneth and Kendall, who were searched by police several times, but never arrested.
Kendall is scheduled to leave for Weaver State in Pennsylvania next year, where he plans to major in criminal justice. But now, Kendall said, "I'm not sure if I should go anymore. We need a different place to stay so we can have some peace."
"That makes me mad," Holloman said. "I want them to focus on their education. I want them to go and make something out of themselves and this is distracting them. It is hurting my family."
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