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USA Herald – This is a case involving the tenant, Fengyi Joey Situ, a property owner by the name of Yuen Fong Ng, and her real estate agent Bill Tsz Piu Lo, who she later hired to be her property manager.

Here, a California woman and her family claim they were wrongfully evicted from their home on North Lark Ellen Avenue, in Covina California. In the tenant’s complaint, she claims that the landlord and her property manager falsely accused her and her family of illegally growing cannabis inside their unit.

According to court records, the property owner worked with real estate agent Bill Tsz Piu Lo to purchase the property in January 2014, the family moved into the property in December 2015, and in 2019, Ng and Lo conspired together to falsely accuse the family of operating an illicit cannabis grow operation.

In an interesting plot twist, the tenant's allegations came in response to a lawsuit filed in October 2022, by Ng herself claiming that her real estate agent/property manager, Bill Lo fraudulently concealed the illegal grow operation from her during the purchase process, which Ng said caused more than $165,000 in damages.

In the family’s cross-complaint, they allege that the Covina home was unlivable, having many defective fixtures, plumbing issues, and other parts, that caused "undetectable water intrusions inside the walls leading to the growth of mold."

The family says that neither Ng nor Lo had ever disclosed that the home was unsuitable for occupancy, and was therefore a breach of implied warranty of habitability.

According to the family’s cross-complaint, they say "These defective and dangerous conditions were not caused by the wrongful or abnormal use of the premises by Ms. Situ or any occupants in the premises."

The family’s cross-complaint contends, that in December 2019, Situ and her family were evicted from the home, without following the applicable civil code, based on the derogatory statements made by the property manager that "impugned the reputation" of Situ and her family, causing the family to be "exposed to ridicule, humiliation, shame and disrepute."

The cross-complaint further states "As a direct and proximate result of the tortious conduct committed by Ng and Lo acting as Ng's agent and within the scope of the agency, Situ and all other occupants were tortuously and/or constructively evicted."

The suit seeks special and general damages, including loss of reputation, loss of goodwill, the value of the improvements made by the tenants, loss of rental value, moving and removing fixtures, the cost of relocation, personal property damages, and economic loss, emotional distress, annoyance and inconvenience, and not to forget, all rents that were paid to Ng, plus punitive damages.

Part of the family’s lawsuit is for bad faith violation of the California civil code, tortious eviction, and breach of implied warranty of habitability, seeking general, special, and punitive damages.

The property owner is represented by Tommy SF Wang of Wang IP Law Group PC., and the property manager/real estate agent is represented by Jason W. Suh and William A. Hadikusumo of Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP.

In a review of documents recently filed by the property manager's attorney, they seem to be dismissive of the family’s claims, calling them "woefully insufficient allegations."

However, this case is far from a slam dunk for Ng or Lo, particularly in light of the recent holding in Duncan v. Kihagi, a California Appellate case that upheld an award to a tenant of $2.7 million for a wrongful eviction case involving similarly alleged tortious conduct by the landlord.