Escalon mayor allegedly tried to use power of office to evict renter, lawsuit claims
A renter is suing Escalon Mayor Ed Alves, alleging Alves tried to illegally evict him and used the influence of his elected position, bringing police to the property, saying he came to the house on city business and threatening to detain him.
Despite declaring his inability to pay rent after testing positive for COVID-19, Reggie Refuerzo alleges Alves further violated state laws by shutting off his water service and directing city staff to not resume it.
In the lawsuit filed on Jan. 25, Refuerzo is suing both Alves and the property landlord MaryLou York for at least $100,000 in punitive damages. Alves told The Bee he collects rent payments and does building maintenance for York, who is 96 and owns the house where Refuerzo lives. Those tasks are similar to what a property manager does, but Alves said he is a general contractor and helps York.
The lawsuit’s fraud allegations are only against Alves, who has served on the Escalon City Council since 1994 and just began his fourth non-consecutive term as mayor.
After getting sick with COVID-19 from late October to early November, Refuerzo said, he could not afford to pay rent for December and January. Between two weeks of symptoms and difficulty seeing a doctor for clearance to resume his job as a warehouse worker, Refuerzo said he missed about five weeks of work and only received two weeks of sick pay. Refuerzo on Monday said he can pay 25% of the rent as required by the California’s temporary ban on certain evictions, but said Alves has told him he will not accept it.
“It made me feel like I’m not even a human being that he would feel like he could just throw someone out like that,” said Refuerzo, 29. “I thought he was supposed to be the mayor, so I thought he was supposed to be for the people and trying to help the people out.”
But Alves said Refuerzo is a squatter and does not have a sublease for the house, where Refuerzo’s mother was a tenant. The lawsuit contends Refuerzo got a sublease from his mother, and Alves and York accepted his rent payments for several months. Alves said he did receive cash in an envelope for the property’s monthly rent, but did not know Refuerzo was paying it because Refuerzo’s mother paid the same way.
Escalon residents are entitled to their opinions about allegations of how he used his connections with city departments, Alves added, yet the courts will determine the lawsuit’s validity.
“It’s sad thing in the state of California and also everywhere where people are taking advantage of the circumstances that are given right now,” Alves said of the coronavirus eviction moratorium. “It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do about it.”
Escalon lawsuit describes police visits, water issues
On Dec. 11, the lawsuit claims, Alves told Refuerzo he and the landlord shut off water for the rental. In text messages, a screenshot of which The Bee reviewed, Alves also told Refuerzo they were in the process of evicting him and police would visit the property.
Later that day, Alves allegedly demanded to enter the property at York’s direction. The lawsuit claims Alves identified his position on the City Council as support to go inside, even though it appeared to be irrelevant. An Escalon Police detective visited the property in the evening to talk with Refuerzo at Alves’ request, the lawsuit alleges.
About two days later, the lawsuit claims, Alves brought police to the house and demanded access, saying he came to the property on behalf of of the city. Alves and the officers allegedly said they would detain Refuerzo if he did not allow them inside. After the encounter, Refuerzo said he missed a couple days of work trying to get legal advice. His boss fired him as a result.
“I was actually terrified to leave my house because I never knew if he would just come in here and throw all my stuff out,” Refuerzo said. “I was scared to even go to work and leave my stuff here, so I had to buy cameras because I didn’t want anybody to break into my house or let my dog out.”
Refuerzo alleges he requested the city of Escalon turn his water service back on multiple times, but staff said Alves instructed them not to. After 25 days without running water, the lawsuit contends service was restored on Jan. 5. Interrupting utility services with the intent of kicking a renter out of a residence violates a California civil code.
Escalon does not currently shut off water for not paying bills because of the pandemic, City Manager Tammy Alcantor said. In general the city turns off service at the request of property owners, such as if they are foreclosing a house. If a landlord asks the city to stop service because nobody lives on the property, Alcantor said, staff takes it at face value.
Also, if a landlord requires tenants to sign up for water service under their name, Alcantor said the city requires some sort of living agreement before linking the property to the tenant. Alcantor declined to comment on the specific lawsuit, as did Police Chief Robert Lackey.
The Escalon Police Department generally responds to civil standby calls — a preventative measure where an officer’s presence prevents potentially tense situations from escalating to violence — as staffing allows, Lackey said. Members of the public can request an officer meet them somewhere in 15 minutes for a civil standby, Lackey said, and city officials get no special priority.
Landlords can request a civil standby for property inspections, but Lackey said there is no top reason why the department responds to the calls. Sometimes callers do not give a specific reason, he said, and they do not receive requests too often.
Complaint comes amid COVID-19 eviction ban
Alves said he and York got the water turned off because Refuerzo’s mother was in jail and they didn’t know Refuerzo was living there. His mother began staying at the house when her former boyfriend had a lease, Alves added.
The mother assumed the lease after the boyfriend moved out, but Alves said York has no written sublease agreement with Refuerzo. A neighbor claimed in an affidavit that Refuerzo moved into the property at the end of July 2020, however.
“The only tenant that we have written on record was the previous one that she (Refuerzo’s mother) lived with,” Alves said. “Then he split and she took over the rent because she had nowhere to go. So, we thought we’d be nice people and let her stay there, and then we ended up with this mess.”
For the police house visit, Alves said officers came for both his and Refuerzo’s safety. To walk through and inspect the property, Alves said he wanted an unbiased third-party present. York did not respond to a voicemail requesting comment.
Besides attorney’s fees and lost wages, Refuerzo is also suing for physical and reputation damages. His attorney Dustin Dyer said the physical damages are related to dehydration caused by no water service and stress from the conflicts, such as being unable to sleep. The reputation damages are for how Alves told at least one neighbor, the city water department and PG&E that Refuerzo is a squatter, Dyer said.
The state eviction moratorium protects tenants from eviction if they declare financial hardship because of the coronavirus or quarantine between Sept. 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021. Tenants must pay at least 25% of their rent during the period, and can pay monthly or in a lump sum by the end of June. The Tenant, Homeowner, and Small Landlord Relief and Stabilization Act also increases penalties for landlords who shut off utilities or otherwise try to evict a tenant themselves instead of going through the court evictions process.
A case management conference for the lawsuit filed in the San Joaquin County Superior Court is scheduled for July 22.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
