“Nijjar and his associates have treated lawsuit after lawsuit and code violation after code violation as the cost of doing business and have been allowed to operate and collect hundreds of millions of dollars each year from families who sleep, shower, and feed their children in unhealthy and deplorable conditions,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta said.
California has filed a lawsuit against a collection of property management and real estate holding companies, all owned by landlord Swaranjit “Mike” Nijjar, his sister Daljit “DJ” Kler, and other members of his family.
The lawsuit was filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta after a years-long investigation into Nijjar’s companies, collectively termed PAMA Management. In court documents, Bonta’s office accuses PAMA of violating a number of state laws by subjecting tenants to unsafe units, including apartments plagued by insect infestations, leaking sewage, and an assortment of other problems.
In a June press release, Bonta characterized the properties managed by Nijjar’s $1.5 billion real estate “empire” as “notorious” for “rampant, slum-like conditions,” at least some of which are believed to have contributed to tenants’ deaths.
“Our investigation into Nijjar’s properties revealed PAMA exploited vulnerable families, refusing to invest the resources needed to eradicate pest infestations, fix outdated roofs, and install functioning plumbing systems, all while deceiving tenants about their rights to sue their landlord and demand repairs,” Bonta said.
“Nijjar and his associates have treated lawsuit after lawsuit and code violation after code violation as the cost of doing business and have been allowed to operate and collect hundreds of millions of dollars each year from families who sleep, shower, and feed their children in unhealthy and deplorable conditions,” he said.
Bonta’s office noted that, in 2016, an infant died after a PAMA-owned mobile home in Kern County, California, caught fire; the mobile home, while occupied, had not been issued an occupancy permit.
“Enough is enough,” Bonta said in a statement. “Today, I step in. I am grateful to all the people who came forward, including the DOJ Consumer Protection Team, California reporters who sounded the alarm, local code enforcement officers who tirelessly respond to tenant complaints, and, most of all, PAMA tenants who spoke out about their distressing experiences.”
The lawsuit makes a number of claims against PAMA, accusing it of tacitly allowing:
- “Water intrusion from leaking roofs and outdated plumbing;
- structural damage caused by water intrusion and deferred maintenance;
- malfunctioning plumbing, including surfacing sewage; and
- cockroach and rodent infestations.”
The lawsuit also argues that PAMA and Nijjar’s other companies intentionally entered into “tens of thousands of leases” that contained deceptive, misleading, or otherwise unlawful terms. For example, some of the leases allegedly “prohibited” tenants from taking their landlord to court, while others made it seem as if residents had no right to withhold rent for repairs.
Sources
State attorney general sues Mike Nijjar, landlord at the center of LAist investigation
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