My firm represented Baltimore City tenants in a case that established that a Baltimore City law that declares a tenant’s personal belongings to be deemed abandoned at the time of an eviction is unconstitutional. Baltimore City may owe tenants who lost belongings in evictions compensation for their lost belongings and emotional distress.  If you lost belongings in a Baltimore City eviction that occurred on or after March 6, 2020, you may have a case against Baltimore City and I can potentially represent you without needing to charge you anything unless we win.  Please fill out the form at the end of this page and someone from my office will reach out to you to get more information, no charge. 

The case, Todman v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, establishes that a Baltimore City ordinance that declares tenants’ belongings to be abandoned at the time of an eviction deprives evicted tenants of their constitutional rights.  The ruling also establishes that Baltimore City is financially responsible to the tenants for the loss of their belongings as a result of Baltimore City’s ordinance. A tenant who prevails against Baltimore City is may also be awarded their reasonable attorneys’ fees, meaning that I can provide representation to tenants without needing to charge them for that representation unless and until we win. To read more about fee-shifting, click here.

In the Todman case, we obtained a jury verdict of $186,000 in damages against Baltimore City in favor of the tenants, representing $36,000 in value for the belongings they lost in the eviction and $150,000 in emotional distress damages. See https://thedailyrecord.com/2023/02/02/baltimore-couple-who-lost-belongings-under-eviction-rule-wins-186k-verdict/

Note that the ruling only applies to certain types of evictions where tenants are not required to be warned that any of their belongings in the property at the time of the eviction would be deemed abandoned – specifically, tenant holding over, wrongful detainer, and breach of lease evictions. If you’re not sure which type of eviction, that’s okay, you can still fill out the form below and we’ll help you figure out if you have a potential claim.