Ms. Kassa, an immigrant from Ethiopia with US citizenship, is a single mother of three living in Ward 4. Ms. Kassa and three other people opened a franchise restaurant called “Butter Chicken Company.” The business entered into a lease agreement for commercial restaurant space in Columbia Heights effective from August 2019 to October 2024. Ms. Kassa signed a Guaranty Agreement and is therefore personally liable for any breach of the lease agreement.
Due to the pandemic, the restaurant was closed from March-October 2020. Since Butter Chicken reopened in November 2020, Ms. Kassa has been working there without pay this year (and living solely on unemployment benefits), because the restaurant is currently making only a quarter of its pre-COVID-19 income—not nearly enough to pay the rent and cover other expenses.
The landlord filed a complaint for breach of contract against the business and all four owners, including Ms. Kassa. He was seeking $146,100 in damages, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs, and also reserved his right to seek damages for the remainder of the lease term. Ms. Kassa reached out to a community nonprofit that referred her to Tzedek DC.
Her savvy Tzedek DC attorney, Jorge Tormes, advised Ms. Kassa about the Small Business Administration (SBA) and its COVID-19 assistance for small businesses, alerting her to both the Paycheck Protection Program and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. As a result of Jorge’s advice, Butter Chicken Company was able to get enough money from the SBA to cover the past-due rent.
Since the start of 2021, we have helped nearly 400 DC residents with debt-related legal problems, securing relief that saved clients an average of over three weeks’ worth of wages at the DC minimum wage.
When the current emergency prohibitions on new debt collection lawsuits, garnishments, and attachments end in September 2021, thousands of DC residents will be swamped by debt collection, litigation, and credit report impairment problems. In fact, Tzedek DC is already being called upon to help residents navigate legal and financial issues arising from COVID-19, as exemplified by our client Ms. Kassa.
Our clients also continue to experience non-pandemic-related issues, as in the following two cases:
Ms. Silver is a 36-year-old African American, single mother of three, and resident of Ward 7. She received a job offer from a government contractor for a position paying significantly more than she was currently earning. However, that offer was contingent upon her passing a background check, and during her background check, an alleged debt to a prior landlord was flagged for review. Ms. Silver asked Tzedek DC to help her sort things out. After reviewing the credit report that had been generated for her background check, staff attorney A.J. Huber determined that the credit report was falsely listing a monetary judgment that had never, in fact, been awarded to the prior landlord. Ms. Silver then retained Tzedek DC to help her dispute the credit report under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the “FCRA”). Because such a dispute takes at least 30 days to resolve, A.J. also wrote a letter to the person conducting the background check, stating the services that Tzedek DC was providing and why he believed the information was incorrect. Although the FCRA dispute has not yet been resolved, Ms. Silver recently informed A.J. that she had passed her background check and would soon be starting her new job. Ms. Silver fervently thanked A.J. for working with her and for being “available for low-income people, especially the ones who want to change their circumstances.”
Mr. Green is a 57-year-old disabled man with unstable housing in DC living on monthly Supplemental Security Income of less than $800. He was in an inpatient addiction rehabilitation facility when the COVID-19 stimulus payments were announced. Since he doesn’t file a tax return because his income is low, to receive a stimulus payment he was required to complete a form on the IRS website. Not being computer literate, Mr. Green relied on a fellow resident at the rehab center who was “good with computers.” However, the resident inserted his own bank account information instead of Mr. Green’s into the application form, thereby diverting the payment from Mr. Green’s account. Mr. Green’s case remains ongoing and he is working with staff attorney John Blake.
Tzedek DC’s overarching goals continue to be preventing client households from falling into the economic abyss and keeping them on the ladder towards financial stability.
