legal aid attorney finds loopholes and settles eviction case

*Keilani’s neighbor, who had moved into the neighborhood in 2007, constantly complained about her daughter’s boyfriend, the family dog, and Keilani’s son *Jordan.

“I tried talking, but I couldn’t seem to reason with him,” said Keilani. “He continued with his accusations. He’s just an awful person.”

Through the years, police responded multiple times, each time confirming that there was no evidence for the complaints. Keilani managed to handle the false accusations without getting lawyers involved. Her daughter moved out eventually.

One day, Jordan marched over to the neighbor’s house and yelled and screamed at his door. Frustrated and fed up with being the focus of the neighbor’s ire, he had a breakdown, recalled Keilani.

This resulted in an eviction case against Jordan, which was brought by the AOAO (Association of Apartment Owners). They wanted her son evicted and Keilani to pay attorney fees and costs.

“I was frustrated and angry,” Keilani said. “He’s a retired man who doesn’t have anything to do and was obsessed with everything. He’s got cameras all set up around his house and he was always watching his monitors. Everything gets on his nerves.”

Good thing, Keilani reached out to Legal Aid for assistance.

Legal Aid Managing Attorney Russ Awakuni discovered crucial loopholes in the AOAO’s demands. He successfully negotiated a settlement to cancel Keilani’s legal fees if Jordan voluntarily moved out of the property.

The Board of Directors representing the AOAO agreed, and the case successfully closed in July 2023.

“I am very happy with the result and impressed with how my case was handled,” said Keilani. “If it wasn’t for Legal Aid, I would have had to pay legal fees that I couldn’t afford - legal fees for my attorney, and the attorney fees of the association. Legal Aid helped me by negotiating a settlement agreement with the Board of Directors that was very favorable to me.”

Now that her son has moved out and the neighbor has one less person to complain about, Keilani’s life is a bit quieter, she said.

“There are still other concerns to deal with but I’m glad I did not have to pay anything,” she said. “If it’s a legal issue, I know now to call Legal Aid. Everybody should be able to afford to defend themselves in court, but not a lot of people can. I was able to because of Legal Aid.”

“We are very pleased with this result for the family,” Russ said.