Class-action lawsuit alleges improper evictions across Everett

Published 11:31 pm Friday, September 18, 2009

EVERETT — Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were wrongly evicted from their Everett apartments when improper legal documents were used to kick them out and collect fees.

The allegations are part of a complicated class-action lawsuit filed Friday in Snohomish County Superior Court against some Everett landlords and eviction lawyers.

The suit could affect the residents of about 1,000 apartments who were kicked out after July 2005, said Scott Peterson, one of the attorneys filing the suit.

Peterson said the majority of the people evicted are disabled and poor.

How much money is at stake isn’t yet clear, Peterson said.

As many as 500 landlords could eventually be named as defendants.

The primary target of the suit is Orlo Williams, who died earlier this year. His business, Williams Investments, still owns several Everett rentals. The company was aware of the suit but offered no comment Friday when reached by telephone.

Also named is All County Evictions, a legal services company that processes eviction paperwork, according to the court documents. A woman who answered the phone at All County Evictions said on Friday that the company hadn’t been served and therefore had no comment.

The problem, the lawsuit alleges, is that the landlords and eviction lawyers improperly brought eviction notices against the tenants. Washington law requires a certain kind of paperwork be used, the lawsuit said. The evictions, court action and fees used by Williams and other landlords are invalid because the correct paperwork wasn’t used, the lawsuit said.

The suit demands all the judgments against the people wrongly evicted be voided and all fees that were improperly assessed be waived.

Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437, jholtz@heraldnet.com.