RALEIGH—In a unanimous opinion published today (see below for link), the state Supreme Court overthrew the eviction of one of our clients, ruling that the local housing authority violated her lease agreement by failing to sufficiently explain why it evicted her.
While the ruling represents a victory for our client, it also strengthens the rights of all public housing tenants in North Carolina, making this a statewide win for housing justice worth celebrating.
Please join us in congratulating the Legal Aid attorneys who worked on this case and our co-counsel, Robinson Bradshaw attorneys Erik Zimmerman and Ethan White, for their advocacy.
The Legal Aid attorneys who worked on this case, which originated in our Raleigh office in 2018 but went on to involve advocates throughout our firm, are Celia Pistolis, the head of our appellate practice group; Andrew Cogdell, former head of our housing practice group, who retired in 2020; Darren Chester, a staff attorney in our Central Intake Unit; D.J. Dore, a supervising attorney in our Durham office; and Tommy Holderness, a supervising attorney in our Charlotte office’s housing unit.
We also thank partners Disability Rights NC, the NC Justice Center, NC Housing Coalition, NC Coalition to End Homelessness and the NC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, all of which submitted a joint amicus brief.