Harold L. Von Muller, II v. Shall K. Chan; Young D. Du; Annie K. Chan
Published: Jun. 7, 1997 | Result Date: Apr. 23, 1997 | Filing Date: Jan. 1, 1900 |Case number: 958412 Verdict – $27,500
Judge
Court
San Francisco Superior
Attorneys
Plaintiff
Defendant
Facts
Since 1986, plaintiff Harold L. Von Muller II has been a tenant at the defendants' building at 88 Onondaga Street, Apartment 2. During that time, conditions in the building became unsafe; there was a gas leak in the laundry room, the hall lights were out, there were no fire extinguishers, the smoke alarms did not work, the plaintiff's heater did not operate, and there were broken windows and leaky faucets. When the plaintiff complained of uninhabitable conditions, the defendant landlord filed an unlawful detainer action in municipal court to force the plaintiff to move or to pay what the plaintiff claimed was an unjustified amount of rent. The plaintiff claimed he temporarily vacated the premises. The defendant landlord then obtained a default judgment and a writ of possession. The plaintiff's personal property was removed from the unit and was subsequently lost or damaged. The plaintiff brought this action against the defendants based on breach of lease, conversion, malicious prosecution and wrongful eviction theories of recovery.
Settlement Discussions
The settlement discussions were not disclosed.
Damages
The plaintiff claimed over $2 million (per the plaintiff) or $5 million (per the defendant) in damages.
Other Information
The verdict was reached approximately three years and two months after the case was filed. ARBITRATION: An arbitration was held on Dec. 19, 1995 before Philip Terre, Esq., resulting in an award of $275,000. The defendants requested a trial de novo. POST TRIAL MOTIONS: The plaintiff's motion to treble damages and for $63,000 in attorney's fees is pending. The plaintiff's and defendants' motions for new trial are also pending.
Deliberation
2 days
Poll
9-3 (damages), 11-1 (oppression and malice)
Length
12 days
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