City Attorney Sues Landlord

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office has joined a lawsuit accusing a landlord of defrauding the Department of Water and Power out of millions of dollars and escaping responsibility for substandard conditions in his building through a complex web of sham corporations, “self-foreclosures” and retaliatory evictions.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court against landlord Lance Jay Robbins, seeks $3 million for unpaid DWP bills and an injunction to block him from retaliating against tenants who complain about conditions in his buildings.

Deputy City Atty. Richard Bobb, who heads the city’s slum housing task force, said the city also intends to file misdemeanor criminal charges against Robbins, who was convicted seven times between 1984 and 1995 and has had more slum violations than any other landlord in the city.

Robbins will be arraigned Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court on charges of operating a building with dangerous fire code violations, including blocked emergency exits and inoperable fire escape ladders. Robbins could not be reached for comment.

Tuesday’s civil lawsuit was originally filed under seal March 7 by Bet Tzedek Legal Services, which represented Inquilinos Unidos and tenant Laura Ochoa, with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher assisting on a pro bono basis.

That lawsuit accuses Robbins and several of his partners of making a series of fraudulent transactions, such as transferring his buildings among his “alter egos” or the “straw owners” he controls to insulate himself from liability for utility bills or the slum conditions he maintains.

“We are trying to strip away his legal schemes and hold Robbins accountable for his actions,” said Lauren Saunders, director of the Sydney Irmas Housing Conditions Project at Bet Tzedek.

Robbins owns or controls 25 to 30 buildings in low-income neighborhoods in Los Angeles, Saunders said. He was once ordered to pay $41,204 in fines and costs after he pleaded no contest July 13, 1995, to criminal slum violations at two Hollywood apartment houses.

At a four-story, 63-unit building in the MacArthur Park district, ownership has changed hands a half-dozen times since 1993--all among corporations controlled by Robbins, Saunders said. At that single building at 1723 James Wood Blvd., the amount owed the DWP is $400,000.

Tenants are generally allowed to pay their rent to a city escrow account when landlords don’t pay their utility bills or refuse to correct serious health and safety violations. When Robbins’ tenants followed these procedures, the suit alleges, they were hit with eviction notices.

He has also masked his ownership by filing foreclosure actions against himself and then appointing a business associate as a court-appointed receiver for buildings, it was alleged in the complaint. On eight occasions, Saunders said, Robbins has initiated phony “self-foreclosures,” making it difficult for the city attorney to prosecute the violations.

“But all roads point back to Lance Robbins,” said Saunders. “If you look behind the corporation, you will see the shadow of Lance Robbins. That is why we filed the lawsuit--to stop these legal shenanigans.”

Outside the 63-unit building at 1723 W. James Wood Blvd., tenants complained about roaches and rodent infestations and lead paint on the walls.

“Mr. Robbins should be made to live here,” said Marta Hernandez, who pays $300 a month for the one-bedroom apartment she shares with her four children. “He should spend a month here and see how we live.”