A Multnomah County jury has found a landlord violated Oregon law by retaliating against a tenant who had refused to pay a repair bill by raising his rent, Oregonlive.com reported.
Portland tenant Jonah Spring had refused to pay a $287 electricians bill to repair a burned-out electrical outlet in his unit. After he refused, the landlord raised his rent by $100 and Spring took the case to court.
The jury awarded him $16,000 which Oregon law doubles to $32,000 over the retaliation issue.
Multnomah County jury earlier this month found his landlord, Aetna Properties, violated Oregon law by retaliating against him.
Damon Petticord, a lawyer for Aetna Properties, said the company will appeal the jury’s verdict because it believes it is “incorrect.”
The issue began when Spring said he notified the property management company of smoke, a spark and a sizzling sound coming from the electrical outlet in the unit’s main bedroom. An electrician hired by the landlord showed up a week later to replace the outlet. Aetna Properties sent him the $287 bill for the electrician.
“(I)n our view, the tenant had damaged our outlet somehow, with whatever was plugged into it, and the tenant is responsible for that damage,” said owner Paul Williamson in a pre-trial deposition.
Spring told management he was not going to pay the bill and a few days later, the management company notified him it would be raising his monthly rent from $1,695 to $1,795.
During trial, attorneys for Aetna Properties contended the couple’s rent increase was unrelated to the dispute over the electrician’s bill and that it raises rents from time to time to keep up with inflation. “A minor disagreement over a $287 charge for repair of damage to an electrical outlet played no role in the decision” to raise rental rate, Petticord said.
