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informal hearing. She brought up many issues that had occurred in the past or simply was
not relevant to the issues that she was facing related to her possible termination.”
Ultimately, the hearing officer concluded, based on the evidence presented at the hearing,
that Johnson was “evicted from her residential unit and that she failed to notify the . . .
housing authority of her eviction,” that she “never offered a reason as to why she did not
notify the [housing] authority that she was facing eviction from her subsidized rental
unit” and, therefore, that the preponderance of the evidence supported the housing
authority’s decision to terminate Johnson from the section 8 program.
Johnson requested an informal review of the hearing officer’s decision. The
housing authority’s executive director upheld the termination of Johnson’s housing
assistance, finding that Johnson “violated the following program rules and obligations:
[¶] 1. Failed to supply the housing authority with required information. [24 C.F.R.
§] 982.552(c)(l)(i)[;] [¶] 2. Committed serious and repeated violations of your lease. [24
C.F.R. §] 982.552(c)(l)(i)[; and] [¶] 3. Evicted for serious and repeated violations of the
lease. [24 C.F.R. §] 982.552(b)(2).” No additional explanation was provided.
Thereafter, Johnson filed the present action seeking a writ of mandate. She argued
that the pre-termination notice violated her due process rights because it did not
adequately inform her of the allegations against her so she could prepare a defense with
rebuttal evidence. She also argued that the hearing officer failed to proceed in a manner
required by law by terminating her section 8 voucher without recognizing its discretion to
consider mitigating circumstances.
The trial court entered judgment in Johnson’s favor directing the housing authority
to set aside its decision and reconsider whether to terminate Johnson from the section 8
program. The court found that the pre-termination notice was deficient because it did not
provide any of the facts regarding the alleged lease violations and failed to identify what
“additional information” Johnson failed to provide. The court also found that the
decisions by the hearing officer and executive director were inadequate because they