Renters want to vindicate their rights without fear of retaliation. Landlords want to know as much as they can about the people who seek to live in their property. In Hundtofte v. Encarnacion a fractured Supreme Court resolved a conflict between those two impulses in favor of the landlords. Renters can force their landlord to sue to evict them if they feel they are being unjustly ushered out of their apartment. But renters will not be able to keep that lawsuit secret from future landlords who might be wary of renting to litigation-prone tenants. In order to decide this issue, the Court gave something very much like standing to the county clerk who opposed a Superior Court order to amend county indices.
Continue Reading In Renters v. Landlords, the County Clerk Wins