Winslett v. 1811 27th Avenue, LLC (2018)

Citation: Winslett v. 1811 27th Avenue, LLC (2018)
Parent Document: Winslett v. 1811 27th Avenue, LLC (2018)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2018-08-15
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/4526968/winslett-v-1811-27th-avenue-llc/ ↗

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privilege bars her retaliation and retaliatory eviction claims under section 1942.5, and
(2) her claim for violation of the Just Cause Ordinance was based on protected activity
under the anti-SLAPP statute. We agree on both counts and shall therefore reverse.
I.
BACKGROUND
Sometime in 2010, plaintiff Shameka Winslett and her two young children moved
into an apartment in a building owned by 1811 27th Avenue LLC and Yugal Sagi
(collectively Sagi).3 Winslett lived with her children in this apartment for several years and
had a third child during that time. By her account, the building was in a state of gross
uninhabitability throughout her tenancy. There were alcohol bottles, condoms, drugs, and
trash in the hallways, and inside her apartment, there was a lack of weatherproofing, water
leaking from the upstairs unit, unsanitary kitchen and counters, and severe mold and mildew
contamination.
Beginning in 2013, the pestilent conditions in Winslett’s apartment became
unbearable. She was pregnant at the time and wanted a healthy living environment for the
day-to-day activity of her children, who at their tender ages were particularly vulnerable to
filth and vermin. One of the most serious issues was the prevalence of cockroaches, which
came from the refrigerator and stove in the apartment and from other units in the apartment
complex. Despite her best efforts to clean, the cockroaches kept coming.
Around this same time, the mold and mildew grew so severe that it covered the
refrigerator, walls, and window sills. The presence of loiterers and general lack of security
added to the intolerable conditions. Winslett complained repeatedly to Sagi and his on-site
property manager Edgar Vargas. In response to her numerous complaints, made both orally
and in writing, Sagi and Vargas did very little. Winslett was told that the cockroaches were
her own fault for not cleaning her apartment well enough and that if she paid her rent, which

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