Page Mill Suffers Legal Setback

Monday, September 8, 2008
Banks Albach
San Mateo Daily News

Page Mill Properties suffered its first legal setback this year after a judge denied the landlord's request to withhold evidence from East Palo Alto and ordered it to give a deposition that city attorneys have scheduled for next week.

Friday's decision by San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Maria Weiner has lifted the city's hopes of gaining ground in an ongoing battle over two rounds of 2,200 rent increases the landlord has issued at roughly 1,700 apartment units in East Palo Alto.

Page Mill Properties had asked Weiner to seal documents pertaining to the rent increases, which the city has been seeking for months to use as evidence to legally challenge the hikes. The two sides are scheduled to debate the validity of the rent increases Sept. 19.

Not only will the records prove that hundreds of tenants have been affected, but they also might reveal that some of the increases are actually higher than allowed by city-calculated rent certificates subject to East Palo Alto's rent control law, Interim City Attorney Valerie Armento said. Through some limited investigation, Armento said, the city has uncovered some supporting evidence.

"It's about time that we get this information to prove that they are in violation of the ordinance," Armento said.

The city has long contended that Page Mill Properties is acting outside of the city's ordinance by basing its rent increases on the certificates - many of which show higher amounts than the actual rents being paid in recent years - instead of a 3.2 percent consumer pricing index. The landlord, on the other hand, claims the certificates are binding. The Sept. 19 hearing will be the first time the arguments are heard in court.

An attorney for Page Mill Properties and its management company, Woodland Park Management LLC, said he felt the ruling was mixed for both sides.

Rick Jarvis, an outside attorney for the city, said the landlord is required to drop off the records by the end of the day Monday. The deposition will take place on Thursday, he said.

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