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CITY OF OAKLAND
ONE FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA x 6 TH FLOOR x OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA 94612 Office of the City Attorney
Ryan Richardson
City Attorney
FAX:
TDD:
(510) 238-3601
(510) 238-6500
(510) 839-6451
March 4, 2025
HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL
Oakland, California
Subject: The People of the State of California, Plaintiff; the City of Oakland, a municipal corporation, Plaintiff and Real Party in Interest v. Dodg Corp., a corporation; Sbmann2, LLC, a limited liability company; Baljit Singh Mann, an individual; Surinder K. Mann, an individual; and DOES One through Twenty inclusive
Case No. RG 19022353
City Attorney File No. CE-04525
(Code Enforcement – Tenant Protection)
President Pro Tempore Gallo and Members of the City Council:
Pursuant to Section 401 of the Charter, the City Attorney has prepared and requests your approval of a resolution authorizing compromise and partial settlement of the above-entitled claim for the sum of Two Hundred and Forty-Five Thousand, Fifty-Six Dollars and One Cent ($245,056.01), payable to The City of Oakland.
This action arises out of dangerous conditions at six rental properties in Oakland which Defendants operated in a manner that subjected their tenants to grave health and safety risks. The case was tried in Alameda Superior Court April 2021. The Court issued a Statement of Decision and Final Judgment in September 2021 in favor of Plaintiffs, the City of Oakland and the People of the State of California, and against all four Defendants. The Court issued a City-wide permanent injunction and awarded the City $3.9 million in civil penalties and $2.4 million in attorney’s fees and costs.
Defendants appealed the judgment. In August 2024, the Appeals Court upheld the liability finding and the permanent injunction. The Appeals Court struck down a significant portion of the civil penalties awarded under Oakland Municipal Code 1.08 and the Tenant Protection Ordinance.
The negotiated settlement resolves all monetary li abilities of civil penalties, costs, and post- judgment discovery sanctions. The parties will brief the City’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees to the Court, and the Court maintains jurisdiction to enforce the ongoing injunction.
The City Council authorized settlement of this case in Closed Session on Thursday, February 20, 2025 (moved by Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan and seconded by Councilmember Ken Houston - 6 Ayes, 2 Absent - Councilmember Janani Ramachandran and Council President Kevin Jenkins (serving as Mayor pursuant to Charter Section 303).
Respectfully submitted,
RYAN RICHARDSON
City Attorney
Attorneys Assigned:
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