Javanni Munguia-Brown v. Equity Residential

GBDH, along with co-counsel Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto and Nicholas & Tomasevic, LLP, are court-appointed Class Counsel in Munguia-Brown v. Equity Residential, a certified class action challenging the late fee that landlord Equity Residential (EQR) has charged to its California tenants for their late payment of rent, from September 3, 2010 to the present.  On October 23, 2017, the Honorable Jeffrey S. White of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California certified the case as a class action, and on October 25, 2021, Judge White expanded the class to all tenants who have been charged EQR’s standard late fee (5%, minimum $50) through August 24, 2022.  The case seeks reimbursement of excessive late rent fees that class members paid to EQR, and to change EQR’s late rent fee policy. The case is scheduled for trial beginning June 8, 2023.

Case Documents