Tacoma Apartment Complex Violated Eviction Ban, AG Says

TACOMA, WA — Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed the first lawsuit related to Gov. Jay Inslee's statewide eviction moratorium. Inslee signed an emergency proclamation on March 18, banning evictions for non-payment during the coronavirus crisis. The governor expanded the order last week, freezing rent hikes, and renewed the moratorium until June 4.

Ferguson's office said Nevada-based JRK Residential Group served "pay or vacate" notices to at least 14 residents living in The Boulders at Puget Sound near University Place. According to the attorney general, the residents received several letters from management instructing them to pay or face eviction, despite the governor's order. The company operates at least four apartment complexes in Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties.

Ferguson said the building's owners "deceptively pressured" residents to pay and sent several threatening emails and phone calls, including some to tenants' workplaces. Several notices sent in early April also referenced federal stimulus money and expanded unemployment funds, even though neither source of economic relief had arrived, Ferguson said.

Multiple residents reported lost income in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and feared becoming homeless without financial assistance, according to the attorney general.

"JRK Residential is a large, sophisticated corporation that knew about the Governor's Emergency Evictions Proclamation — and ignored it anyway," Ferguson said. "Their conduct is cruel and unlawful — and we will hold them accountable."

The lawsuit, filed in Pierce County Superior Court, is seeking restitution for each of the impacted tenants and civil penalties up to $2,000 per violation of the Consumer Protection Act.

Furguson's office said it had received more than 650 eviction-related complaints since the online form launched on April 1, and investigators have spoken with 469 tenants and 284 landlords across Washington.

Residents who have eviction-related complaints at JRK properties can contact the attorney general's office at 1-833-660-4877 or email jrkresidential@atg.wa.gov.