Tenants who challenged Westminster Management’s illegal fees related to the late payment of rent have won a court ruling that they and thousands of other Westminster tenants could recover the illegal fees in a class action. On March 11, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City certified as a class action a lawsuit against Westminster Management, one of Maryland’s largest landlords, for charging fees related to the late payment of rent above the permissible 5% late fee and for attempting to avoid eviction protections for renting families. The court certified as a class all current and former tenants at Westminster-managed properties in Maryland who have been charged fees related to the late payment of rent since 2014 and who paid those fees. The tenants in this case are represented by Brown, Goldstein & Levy attorneys Andy Freeman, Anisha Queen, Jamie Strawbridge, and Lauren Kelleher, along with co-counsel C. Matthew Hill of the Public Justice Center and Chelsea Ortega and Jane Santoni of Santoni, Vocci & Ortega.
This class-certification decision comes on the heels of a victory for Maryland renters last year in the Supreme Court of Maryland, which concluded in the same case that Westminster’s charges related to late payment of rent violated state law. In that decision, the Supreme Court also concluded that the trial court had failed to properly consider the tenants’ request that the lawsuit proceed as a class action.
“In these uncertain times, this ruling is a huge step forward to protect vulnerable tenants,” said Tenae Smith, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
“The court’s decision to certify a class of current and former Westminster Management’s tenants is a milestone in this long-running litigation and a victory for Maryland renters,” said BGL partner Anisha Queen, who argued the motion to certify a class in circuit court. “The Supreme Court already found that Westminster violated the law. The decision today ensures that thousands of current and former Westminster tenants will be able to recover the fees they were illegally charged.”
Central to the circuit court’s decision was its rejection of Westminster’s argument that identifying class members would be too difficult because (in Westminster’s view) it would require sorting through tenant ledgers to determine which class members paid which fees. As the court explained, such information can be readily gleaned from electronic tenant ledgers Westminster maintains, and even detailed review of such ledgers is no reason to deny certification of a class.
“Illegal fees take money out of the pockets of thousands of renting families each month,” said Matt Hill, co-counsel for tenants at the Public Justice Center. “Today’s opinion makes clear that tenants who have been charged such illegal fees may come together in a class action and hold their landlord or property manager accountable.”
Chelsea Ortega, a partner at Santoni, Vocci & Ortega, LLC who also represents tenants in this lawsuit, added, “Class actions are essential to defending the rights of Marylanders, because they enable plaintiffs who may lack the resources to file lawsuits on their own to band together in the pursuit of justice. Without class actions, the rights of Maryland tenants likely never would have been vindicated. That is why the circuit court decision today is so important.”
The tenants in this ongoing litigation allege that Westminster, the property management arm of Kushner Companies (the family real estate company of Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law), engaged in a scheme to charge Maryland tenants illegal, excessive late fees; designate those fees as “rent” under their form leases; and then misapply tenants’ payments first to the illegal fees and non-rent charges so it could claim that rent was still due and thereby obtain a faster eviction. The Supreme Court previously concluded that every element of this scheme violates state law.
ABOUT ANDY FREEMAN
A talented trial lawyer, Andy is well known and highly regarded for obtaining justice by mastering the relevant law and getting to know his clients, their problems, and the evidence in their cases. Other lawyers bring him cases that present complicated combinations of law and facts or that require making new law. Andy has been a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers since 2014. His many accolades include being recognized consistently by Chambers USA, Lawdragon, and Super Lawyers. Andy was also chosen by his peers as Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year. Learn more about Andy here.
ABOUT ANISHA QUEEN
Anisha Queen joined Brown Goldstein & Levy in January 2019. Since joining the firm, she has represented clients in a wide array of civil matters. She has experience representing clients in cases involving employment law, housing discrimination, disability rights, civil rights, wrongful convictions, Title IX, and contract disputes. She has also represented clients in criminal matters, including those involving second-degree assault, weapons possession, and wire fraud. Learn more about Anisha here.
ABOUT JAMIE STRAWBRIDGE
Jamie Strawbridge has significant experience representing tenants in housing-related cases. He has represented plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging sub-standard living conditions and housing discrimination; defended tenants in eviction proceedings; and fought to preserve individuals’ housing-related benefits in administrative actions. Learn more about Jamie here.
ABOUT LAUREN KELLEHER
Lauren joined Brown, Goldstein & Levy in February 2022. Since then, Lauren has worked on multiple high impact cases, including one in which she helped obtain a rare win on a motion for the reconsideration and reinstatement of an Americans with Disabilities Act wrongful discharge claim for a client with multiple sclerosis. For 2024, she was named to Best Lawyers in America’s “Ones to Watch” list for her leading civil rights work. Learn more about Lauren here.
Founded in 1982, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a law firm based in Baltimore, Maryland, with an office in Washington, D.C. The firm is nationally recognized in a wide variety of practice areas, including complex civil and commercial litigation, civil rights, health care, family law, and criminal defense. Above all else, Brown, Goldstein & Levy is a client-centered law firm that brings decades of experience and passionate, effective advocacy to your fight for justice.
