Jury awards $49,058.00 to tenants for damage to property, emotional distress, and punitive damages

After a four-day jury trial, we (co-counsel Ben Crow and I) prevailed on claims for conversion and damage to property under Minnesota Statute § 504B.271 and obtained an award of $49,058.00 for damage to property, emotional distress, and punitive damages for our clients.

In brief, our clients fell behind on rent and made arrangements to move, but were unable to get out on time due to a March 2006 snowstorm that dumped over 12 inches of snow on St. Paul. The landlord gave them an extension, but they were not able to get their things moved out in time, so the landlord changed the locks. When she did, she told our clients they could come back any time for their things. Then she tossed all their property in the melting snow in the yard and driveway.

When our clients returned to pick up their things, the valuable items were missing—a neighbor saw the landlord and her children loading some electronics and other items into a pickup truck. Nearly everything else was ruined by the wet snow.

Our clients had some records of their lost property, but along with everything that was missing were their business and personal records. They lost equipment for their cleaning business, photographs of their children, their children’s toys, keepsakes, clothing, and more. Left without their vital records and business equipment, our clients were homeless for weeks while they picked up their lives.

The jury found the landlord was responsible for the damaged property, that her conduct was extreme and outrageous, meriting damages for emotional distress, and that she acted with deliberate disregard for our clients’ legal rights, meriting punitive damages.

I believe the jury did the right thing, and that justice was served.

The case was Guidry and Davis v. Reed, Ramsey County D. Ct. file no. 62-C8-06-10630.