An unlawful detainer moves fast. Once you are served with the lawsuit, you have only ten court days to file a response, and if you miss that deadline the landlord wins by default. We stop that from happening. The Law Office of Kevin P. Hermansen, P.C. defends tenants in eviction cases throughout Los Angeles County, from the Stanley Mosk Courthouse downtown to Van Nuys, Pasadena, Santa Monica, Long Beach, and every other courthouse in between.
Most evictions have a weak point, and we find it. A defective three-day notice, a landlord who never registered the unit with the City's Rent Stabilization program, a no-fault eviction that does not satisfy the Tenant Protection Act, or a landlord who is retaliating against you for demanding repairs can each defeat the case entirely. We investigate the property, the ownership, and the notice, and we build the defense before the landlord's attorney knows what hit them.
If your landlord let the unit fall apart while demanding full rent, that is a defense to a nonpayment eviction. California law says a landlord who breaches the warranty of habitability is not entitled to full rent, and a jury can decide what the unit was actually worth. We use the landlord's own neglect against them.
When a trial court gets it wrong, the fight is not over. We handle appeals of unlawful detainer judgments to the Appellate Division of the Los Angeles Superior Court and to the Court of Appeal, and we know how to protect your possession while the appeal is pending.
How long do I have to respond to an eviction lawsuit in California?
Ten court days from the date you are served with the summons and complaint. Weekends and court holidays do not count, but the clock is short. Call us the day you are served.
Can my landlord evict me without going to court?
No. Changing the locks, shutting off utilities, or removing your belongings without a court judgment and a sheriff's lockout is an illegal lockout, and the landlord can be held liable for it. If that is happening to you, we can act immediately.
Do I have extra protection if my building is rent-controlled?
Yes. In the City of Los Angeles, most buildings built before October 1978 are covered by the Rent Stabilization Ordinance, which limits the reasons a landlord can evict at all. Even outside the RSO, the state Tenant Protection Act and the City's Just Cause Ordinance require the landlord to prove a lawful reason for the eviction. Many landlords cannot.